
CHRIST IN GETHSEMANE. 
From painting by Liska. 



Deeper Yet 

Meditations for the Quiet Hour 

He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out ' 
J of the great depths. — Ps. 78: 15. 

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of ^ 
I God 1 — Rom. 11: 33. 

-/ 

By Clarence E. Eberman 

^ Pastor of the Moravian Church, Lancaster, Penn., and |^ 

President of the Pennsylvania Christian 

Endeavor Union 

WITH PREFACE BY 

REV. FLOYD W. TOMKINS, D. D. 

Rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, 

Penn. 




United Society of Christian Endeavor 
Boston and Chicago 



.i 



TWO COPIES H EC El V ED. 

Library of €•„,„.* 
Office of tn, 

MAV231900 

^ReglttT Of C.py rights 
SECOND COPY. 



62608 

Copyright, 1900, 

by the 

United Society of Christian Endeavor 



DEDICATION 

To the Comrades of the Quiet Hour, who have daily ] 

brought their empty chalices to the Eternal Foun- ] 

tain, that they might be filled ; who have prayed I 

for deeper experiences of God's presence, ■ 

and who have not waited in vain : 

upon the Lord in the early a 

watches of the morning 

This Message is Affectionately Dedicated ] 

with the prayer that j 

the Spirit of Christ may j 

constantly lead his disciples into "I 

the mastery of the deepest truths of ^ 

the blessed life. 



INVOCATION 

By thy holy incarnation and birth, 
By thy pure and blameless childhood, 
By thy obedience, diligence, and faithfulness, 
By t?iy humility, meekness, and patience, 
By thy faithfulness in thine earthly calling, 
By thy perfect life before God and man. 
By thy baptism, fasting, and temptation. 
By thy griefs and sorrows. 
By thy prayers and tears, 
By thy having been despised and rejected, 
Bless and comfort us, gracious Lord and God. 

By thy crown of thorns. 
By thy cross and passion. 
By thy sacred wounds and precious blood. 
By thy atoning death. 
By thy rest in the grave. 
By thy glorious resurrection and ascension. 
By thy sitting at the right hand of God, 
By thy sending the Holy Ghost, 
By thy prevailing intercession. 
By the holy sacraments. 
By thy divine presence. 

By thy coming again to thy church on earth, or our be- 
ing called home to thee. 
Bless and comfort us, gracious Lord and God. 

By thy willing sacrifice of thyself even unto death 
Make known to us the mystery of thy love. 

Fulfil in us thy prayer that all who love thee may be one, 
as thou art in the Father, and the Father in thee. 



Preface. 




HERE can be no doubt that the 
greatest need in this bustling, rush- 
ing, materialistic, money-making 
age is a deepening of the normal 
spiritual life, so that religion shall be to men 
not merely an acceptance of doctrines, or a 
connection with a church, but a conscious 
knowledge of God's presence. 

The ''practice of the presence of God" 
was one of the good things of the mediaeval 
age. The Christian world turned from it 
when the errors of that dark sea were 
thrown aside, and it is with difficulty that 
we can come back to it. We are afraid of 
emotionalism. We dread a possible asceti- 
cism which in the strong demands of con- 
templation may make common duties irk- 
some. Life is so full of energy that we 
cannot endure the thought of a Christian 
shutting himself away from human needs 
and demands while he dreams of strange 
spiritual ideals. 



8 PREFACE. 

And yet we must recognize that human 
needs can be adequately met only when we 
are fired by a conscious power which, com- 
ing from above, grants to us wisdom and 
strength. We find ourselves capable of 
doing ordinary things only when we see 
them transfigured by the all-pervading love 
of God. 

Meditation becomes a necessity to a true 
man just in proportion to his zeal. If he is 
to be more than a machine, he must see the 
meaning and order which lies back of the 
machinery. There must be ''the living 
creature" in the wheels. (Ezek. i : 21.) 

The reason men dislike meditation is 
largely because in the past it has been sub- 
jective. To meditate upon one's self is 
never productive of much exaltation. The 
sight of sins and failures calls for self- 
despite and mortification of the body, sadly 
considered vile, such as the mediaeval saints 
too frequently indulged in, thinking the 
destruction of evil the sure path to holiness. 

But true meditation must have a lofty and 
infinite object. To look within is to find 
despair; to look to God is to find hope. 

Our modern contemplation, therefore, 
rests upon God, upon Jesus Christ, upon 



PREFACE, 9 

the Holy Spirit. Forgetful of himself, the 
man, like the sick folk in the gospel, fixes 
his eyes upon Christ. The love, the kind- 
ness, the watchful power, the wisdom, of 
God, — these bring the surest destruction to 
evil, the surest exaltation of God. To re- 
member that God is near, a constant, per- 
sonal Friend; to know that we can com- 
mune with him unceasingly; to become 
far-sighted so that we can detect his 
'' ruling hand in each event of life"; to love 
him with that simple, normal love of a 
child for his father, which neither runs to 
wild delirium of excitement, nor rests in 
gloomy silence, but clings with intense 
trust,— these are the great parts of a true, 
healthy religion. 

One always rejoices, then, when any ef- 
fort is made to lead men to this practical 
Christianity. The world has many books 
which have given comfort. A Kempis's 
'^Imitation of Christ,'' Taylor's "Holy Liv- 
ing" and Wilson's *' Sacra Privata" have 
helped hundreds. Yet they are often mor- 
bid and abnormal. What is needed is a 
cheery, bright, hopeful series of meditations, 
which shall inspire and strengthen. 

The ''quiet hour" demands helps which 



10 PREFACE, 

shall not suffer reaction, but which shall 
rather create a sweet fragrance to last and 
permeate all the hours. 

This book is designed to meet this de- 
mand, and experience will doubtless prove 
its admirable fitness. Its author, a dear 
friend and brother, has written, as all true 
men must write, from the depths of his 
own feeling. It is always an uncovering 
of personal experience when such a book 
comes forth; but the revelation, while it 
enhances the confidence and respect felt for 
the author, creates a desire to emulate and 
to seek a like peace. 

May God grant his benediction to this 
book, and cause it to refresh and comfort 
and inspire thousands. 

Floyd W. Tomkins. 

Holy Trinity Rectory ^ 

Philadelphia, Penn, 



CONTENTS 

chaptbb page 

Invocation 3 

Dedication 5 

Preface . 7 

I. The Incense of Prayer 13 

II. Seeing Jesus 17 

III. The Glory of Salvation 21 

IV. The Surrender 25 

V. Much More 29 

VI. The Three Crosses 33 

VII. The Divine Partnership 37 

VIII. Guidance and Glory 41 

IX. Love's Rescue 45 

X. The Vision of God 49 

XI. Through Knowledge to Trust ... 53 

XII. The Higher Life 57 

XIII. The Stimulus of Defeat .... . . 61 

XIV. Paul's Three Ambitions 65 

XV. Love Seeking Love 69 

XVI. The Forgotten Place 73 

XVII. Through the Fires 77 

XVIII. God's Property 81 

XIX. The Divine Pattern • • . 85 

XX. The Time Factor 89 

XXI. The Lens of Purity 93 

XXII. God's Vigilance 97 

11 



12 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

XXIII. In God We Trust loi 

XXIV. The Lost Chord 105 

XXV. The Greater Works 109 

XXVI. A Threefold Ministry 113 

XXVII. Heart-Hymns 117 

XXVIII. God's Summits 121 

XXIX. A Consecration Hymn 125 



Deeper Yet. 



The Incense of Prayer. 

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense ; 
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice, 
— Ps. 141 : 2. 




RUE prayer is the Christian's vital 
breath. It is also as incense before 
the Lord. We narrow the meaning 
by thinking that in prayer we only 
ask for something. Shall we not express 
our love ? Shall we not praise God for his 
own sake ? Shall we not sit at the Master's 
feet in the school of prayer, and learn of 
him? 

Friends living together are not continually 
asking favors of one another. More likely, 
they are making sacrifices, as truest soul- 
communion expresses itself in unselfish 
ministry. 

The prayer life is always larger than our 

prayer words. As we walk with Jesus, we 

. shall find that his blessed life will inspire 

13 



14 DEEPER YET, 

the spirit of true prayer; yea, his presence 
will start the fountains of our love. 

The Holy Spirit seeks continually to re- 
vise our prayers, to enlarge them, to give 
them the true bent heavenwards, and also 
to make the soul responsive to the divine 
love. 

If the waves of ether will carry earthly 
messages to a sensitive receiver, how much 
truer it is that the petitions of God's children 
will be heard of the Father! But the other 
side of the truth is supremely important. 
We speak to God in prayer. He also speaks 
to us. Do we hear his voice ? Are our 
souls sensitive enough, and still enough, 
and pure enough, to receive his messages ? 
Is the circuit between our souls and the 
mercy-seat complete ? 

On one occasion, the Atlantic cable would 
not operate. At last, the discovery was 
made that a small sea-fish had penetrated 
the insulation and had broken the circuit. 
Very small things have broken our spiritual 
contact with the mercy-seat. Trifling ob- 
jects have come between us and God, and 
have thwarted the work of grace in our 
hearts. 

The prayer life is the soul living and com- 



THE INCENSE OF PBAYEB 15 

muning with God. It is fellowship, ex- 
pressed in trust and love. Why do we de- 
ceive ourselves by surrounding the blessing 
of prayer with uncertainty and mystery ? 
It is our privilege to live with our Father, to 
talk with him, to come to him in our weak- 
ness and in our want, and to tell him how 
much we need him. It is not necessary to 
know or to understand everything; it is 
sufficient to love much, and to trust im- 
plicitly. We can lay our plans before him, 
and we can express to him our love for 
him. We can tell him our failings, our 
poverty of faith and spirit. We can confess 
to him the lurking spirit of pride or selfish- 
ness, and ask him to overcome for us. We 
can bring to him all our failures and our de- 
feats. We can come to him in our glad- 
ness, and share our happiness with him. 
We can come to him in our woe; and, as 
we mingle our tears with our petitions, be- 
hold, his love will rainbow a promise on 
the storm-clouds, and we shall not go to our 
arduous tasks unblest. '' Truly our fellow- 
ship is with the Father, and with his Son 
Jesus Christ.'' '' Truly, they who trust the 
Lord shall not want." 
Soul of mine, how dost thou pray ? What 



16 DEEPER YET. 

hast thou brought to thy Heavenly Father 
to-day, an incense prayer or a complaining 
one, a loving message or a doubting fear ? 
Is thy prayer in the language of love, or is 
it querulous, fault-finding, formal ? Pray 
that thou mayest pray aright. Offer to God 
the incense of true prayer before thou canst 
expect the incense of grace and blessing in 
return. 

Evening has come. The day's w^ork is 
done or undone. Hast thou lifted up holy 
hands, or unclean ones, or empty ones, at 
thy evening sacrifice ? What! nothing done, 
nothing v^rought, through the precious mo- 
ments of the day, now gone forever, to 
glorify thy Lord, to honor his promises, and 
to extend his kingdom of love ? His grace 
is so full and free! Hast thou come empty- 
handed } O, come closer to thy Father 
God, and, hungering for the spirit of his 
Son, pray that thou mayest be a better 
worker on the morrow, if the light of earth 
dawns for thee in the morning. 



Seeing Jesus. 

Sir, we would see Jesus. — John 12: 21. 



T is said that a famous educator, a 
man of deep piety and earnest faith, 
had moments of mental depression. 
On one occasion he entered his class- 
room very much depressed, and, as was his 
custom, he knelt in prayer with his stu- 
dents. As he arose from his knees, his face 
bathed in tears, but radiant with a new- 
found joy, he exclaimed, ''Dear young 
gentlemen, I have just caught a glimpse of 
Jesus." 

The nameless Greeks of old came to the 
disciples with this intense desire, that they 
might see Jesus. The great feast offered 
them many interesting sights; but their 
hearts were restless, because they wanted, 
above all things, a glimpse of Jesus. 

The vision of Christ is always more im- 
portant than even the vision of our duty, 
because the best service is that which his 
presence inspires, and to which his voice 
calls. It is absolutely essential for us to 

17 



18 DEEPER YET. 

seek occasions when we may lay aside the 
endeavors and the objects of our strenuous 
life, and thwart the subtle, overreaching 
tendency of our self-life, in order that we 
may simply be conscious of God, of his 
life, of his presence, of his love. 

We are concerned about our service. 
We know the need of deeper consecration. 
We seek to inspire one another by our mes- 
sages. But the blessing comes to us when 
the vision of Jesus shapes our service, and 
we can say with the disciples, ** We see no 
man save Jesus only," who has given us his 
Spirit. 

The Master while here upon earth always 
drew his motives from above. The Fa- 
ther's will shaped and moulded his daily 
ministry. He will also constrain us to come 
apart with him, the soul alone with God, in 
order that our lives may be shaped and in- 
spired through motives which come from 
him. He knows the strain upon the human 
heart. He knows the subtlety of the human 
soul. Life under the impetus of lower mo- 
tives always converges toward the earth. 

The time may come when we think that 
we are masters, and not disciples ; that we are 
owners of the vineyard, and not God's 



SEEING JESUS. 19 

husbandmen, not his tillage. The secret 
of power is the soul always dependent upon 
the divine strength. '* When I am weak, 
then am 1 strong.'* 

All that we have and are, we have re- 
ceived from above. **Come unto me, and 
I will give." God alone is the Giver. He 
is our life, and we are capable of commun- 
ion with him. What we are is largely de- 
termined by what our faith sees. '*We 
need the silence of the divine fellowship, in 
order that God's life may sink deep into the 
soul, and become a part of its inner and 
essential life." We cannot see the whole 
of life's way; but we can see Jesus, our 
Guide, and his blessed face will inspire and 
strengthen us for every service. 

We need the vision of Jesus to determine 
the intensity of our daily living. The vision 
of faith transfigures believers into disciples. 

Jesus is willing to live with us in our 
homes. Let this be the motto : — 

" Jesus, the head of this house, 
The unseen guest at every meal, 
The silent listener to every conversation." 

Jesus is willing to live with us in our 
hearts. Open, open to him, and he will 



20 DEEPER YET. 

abide. How can we go wrong when, look- m 

ing into his blessed face, we are guided by 
his presence ? How can we possibly cher- 
ish sin, and still look into his blessed eyes ? 
My brother, the secret of the Christian 
life is not that we see Jesus now and then, 
but that we live with him, that we walk 
with him, that we hear his voice summon- 
ing us to hourly fellowship and a moment- 
by-moment discipleship. May the Lord 
richly reveal himself to thee in the quiet 
hour, and send thee forth to bear for him 
the burdens of the busy hour. 

<* Gaze one moment on the Face whose beauty 

Wakes the world's great hymn ; 
Feel it one unutterable moment 

Bent in love o'er him. 
In that look feel heaven, earth, men, and angels 

Distant grow and dim. 
In that look feel heaven, earth, men, and angels 

Nearer grow through him." 



i 




The Glory of Salvation. 

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy 
name ; and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy 
name's sake. — Ps, 79 : 9. 




ALVATION is more than the rescue 
of the human soul. The angels sung 
the key-note of salvation on the first 
Christmas morn, *' Glory to God in 
the highest.*' Salvation is a revelation of 
God's glory. 

God has no pleasure in the death of the 
wicked. "Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye 
die ? " There is grief in the Father's heart 
over every erring child of his who wilfully 
wanders away from home. 

Sin is an intruder. Like a plague that 
withers and devastates, so sin is the enemy 
of peace and righteousness. 

The Son of God came to destroy the 
works of the evil one. The solitudes of the 
wilderness, the deep shades of the olive 
garden, the agony of Calvary, tell us the in- 
tensity and the dreadfulness of the battle. 
Harbored sin leads to inevitable ruin. 
21 



22 DEEPER YET. 

*'Thou hast destroyed thyself." It is not 
God who condemns. ''He that believeth 
not is condemned already." Punishment is 
the consequence of sin, not the sentence of 
the Father. ' ' Thou hast destroyed thyself, " 

said the Lord, **but " thank God for 

that little word, that bids the soul turn from 
the dismal picture of sin, and look upon a 
picture of love and hope — *'but in me is 
thine help." 

The pit of sin is steep and deep. Help 
can come only from above, and wondrous 
help has come. God so loved that he gave 
his Son. Jesus stooped to the cross, that 
he might reach the lowest and the basest 
and save from the uttermost depths to the 
uttermost heights. 

If there is joy in the presence of the 
angels over one sinner that repenteth, surely 
there is infinite joy in the Father's heart over 
every prodigal who returns to him. 

The saved soul glorifies his name. If it 
means so much to the human soul to be res- 
cued, what must it mean to the divine love 
to save! Deliverance and cleansing are 
therefore the pathway of God's glory. The 
whole Christian life is thenceforth for his 
name's sake. Let us never forget that we 



THE GLOBY OF SALVATION, 23 

are saved not simply for ourselves, for our 
comfort or welfare, but that God might be 
glorified. 

The glory of this salvation is that we are 
God's property, illumined by the spirit of 
Christ, and extending the kingdom of 
heaven upon this earth. The Name of 
names is written in our hearts, and upon 
our lives.- ''A little deeper, and you will 
find the emperor,'' said a wounded French 
soldier to the physicians operating upon 
him. So throughout our entire beings the 
glory of God's salvation will permeate until 
body, soul, and spirit complete the willing 
sacrifice. Let us be careful how we hold 
the Name before the world. Sin stains our 
own names, but salvation crowns us with 
his name of glory. We are not our own. 
We are Christ-men and Christ-women, liv- 
ing his life, and manifesting his holiness. 

Soul of mine, thou hast felt the sting of sin 
in thy life. Hast thou also felt the touch of 
the scarred Hand of Calvary, that maketh 
all things whole ? Hast thou entered into 
the fulness of the truth that thy salvation is 
a joy to the Father ? Thou art forgiven not 
only that thou mightest have peace, but 
that thou also mightest glorify thy God. 



24 DEEPER YET. 

Be watchful and faithful in thy sacred 
trusts. Take up thy tasks, small or great, 
with clean hands and a pure heart. Turn 
thy face toward the light, and thy darkness 
shall disappear, even as the night hastens 
away before the sunrise. Thy name is 
nothing. His name is all and in all, most 
sweet, most precious. Come daily for heal- 
ing, for cleansing; for thou art not yet per- 
fect, and one day, when he shall appear in 
glory and power, thou shalt be like thy 
blessed Saviour, for thou shalt see him as 
he is, to whom, together with the Father 
and the Holy Spirit, be power and honor 
and glory now and forevermore. 



The Surrender. 

Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from 
the dead. — Rom, 6 : 13. 




HE Christian life is a life of self-sur- 
render, by which we willingly and 
trustfully yield our wills in order 
that we might do God's will. 
Reason clearly sides with revelation on this 
point. Since our thoughts are not God's 
thoughts, and he is perfect in wisdom and 
knowledge, while we are ignorant and lim- 
ited, we need God. The child for its own 
good must yield itself to the superior wis- 
dom of the parent or teacher, that it might 
acquire knowledge and training. ''Ap- 
prenticeship alone leads to mastership." 
We of older years have never really ceased 
from attending school, and we learn in pro- 
portion as we yield our ignorance to the 
wiser powers of others. How infinitely 
truer this is in our spiritual life ! Not inde- 
pendence, but sheer dependence, is our only 
hope. Christ said, ''Without me ye can 
do nothing." Neither can we be anything. 

25 



26 DEEPER YET. 

Not all the intensest forms nor the most 
vehement profession can induce spiritual 
possession or power. The secret of power 
is absolute yielding to God, as a child yields 
to the father, as a soldier simply obeys his 
general. 

** Ours not to make reply. 
Ours not to reason why. 
Ours but to do and die, — ** 

or live, wherever God's voice summons us 
to serve. 

Not a single power of the mind or heart is 
effaced by such yielding. Nay, rather, we 
only come to our true selves when God 
dwells in us, and we have offered to him 
our whole beings, in which he may will and 
do of his good pleasure. 

The branch that yields itself to the vine, 
that through it the life of the vine may flow 
to the outermost edge of leaf and twig, 
bears the rich clusters of fruit, because it 
abides in the vine, and yields itself to the 
life of the vine. '' I am the vine, ye are the 
branches," said Christ. 

Sin is separation from God, a turning 
away from him, and the soul seeks to reign 
over its own little realm. The mistakes and 



THE SURRENDER, 27 

failures in life come from the effort to have 
our own way, to determine our own stand- 
ards, to use our own strength, to rule our- 
selves. *' Ye are not your own. Ye were 
bought with a price.*' Yielding to God is 
the fundamental principle of salvation. God 
can save only a man who chooses to be 
saved. Christ's lament over the Holy City 
is most pathetic, because the occasion for it 
is reproduced time and time again. *' How 
often would I have gathered thy children 
together . . . and ye would not." 

Yielding is also the essential element of 
Christian service. We are not masters, but 
disciples. We are ''servants of the Most 
High." ** Yield yourselves unto God "by 
a conscious choice. The margin gives a 
striking version, — ''Yield your members 
as arms or weapons unto God." 

We sing the hymn so often, — 

" Nearer, my God, to thee, 
Nearer to thee." 

Let us translate that thought into a con- 
stant fact. Put yourself so close to the 
hand of God that he can use you wherever 
and whenever he wills. Let your members 
be always God's weapons, which he may 



28 DEEPER YET, 

use in his plans. Offer him clean hands, a 
pure heart, willing feet, consecrated lips, a 
holy life, and put all of these by a conscious 
choice near him. God can do anything 
with us and for us if we lie close to his 
hand of omnipotence. George Neumark 
uttered a great truth when, speaking of his 
hymns, he said, ''I was only the instru- 
ment ; God swept the keys." The Father 
can do little for us if he can do little with 
us. He will add his deepest blessing as he 
uses the yielded life. Thus we may sing 
with Horatius Bonar: — 

" Make use of me, my God, 
Let me not be forgot, 
A broken vessel, cast aside, 
One whom thou needest not. 

«< All things do serve thee here. 
All creatures, great and small : 
Make use of me, of me, my God, 
The weakest of them all." 



Much More. 



51 



Much more, they which receive abundance of grace 
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life, by 
one, Jesus Christ. — Rom, 5 ; 17. 

AUL undoubtedly caught the key- 
note of this message from the Mas- 
ter, who said, '* I am come that they 
might have hfe, and that they might 
have it more abundantly/* 

Two small words gather up the thought, 
**much more." The apostle used this 
phrase five times in this chapter, to indicate 
the great contrast between the life under sin 
and the life under grace. 

Sin has laid a heavy burden upon the soul. 
No wonder the spent life dismally sighs out 
the question, " Is life worth living .^ " Whose 
fault is it ? The wilful human heart snapped 
the golden link which bound life to God. 
Made to live with him, it chose to wander 
from him. *'The soul that sinneth, it shall 
die.'* Sin is powerful, but God's grace is 
much more powerful. 

A lapidary purchased a very beautiful 

29 



30 DEEPER YET. 

Stone, which was marred by a small crack. 
The finder thought that this defect destroyed 
the value of the jewel. But the artist cut 
out the defect in making his design for a 
signet-ring. ''So God obliterates the con- 
science of sin by transforming it into the 
consciousness of forgiveness. The cross 
of Christ sinks deeper than the sense of 
guilt.'' Life kills death. We are saved 
from sin, that we might live the abounding 
life. 

Again, there is always much more for us 
in our weakness. As princes of the royal 
house, we have an inexhaustible storehouse 
upon which we may draw. '' My God shall 
supply all your need according to his riches 
in glory by Christ Jesus." There is always 
more for us than we use, and we need 
never grow anxious because conditions 
seem to demand greater supplies of grace. 
They which receive take out of the full and 
exhaustless hand of God. Blessed are they 
who hunger and thirst, for they shall not 
only be filled, but they shall be made strong 
enough to reign. 

The regnant life is Christ's conquest of 
us applied to our circumstances. '*Be 
strong in the Lord, and in the power of his 



MUCH MORE. 31 

might/' Dependence is the secret of our 
liberty and our strength. Our moral courage 
is God's life surging through willing chan- 
nels in us. Our strength in prayer is con- 
scious fellowship with the Saviour. Our 
abundance of faith is the Holy Spirit wit- 
nessing within us concerning Jesus. 

The regnant life is an increasingly obedient 
life. Disobedience opposes our plans to 
God's. When our way crosses God's, then 
come the crosses; for the Father seeks to 
draw us back to his side. The assurance 
of victory is to let God have his perfect 
way. *' This is the victory that overcometh 
the world, even our faith." We can win 
regnancy, not because we are strong, but 
because we have put our whole beings into 
the hands of our great Captain, who wins 
the battles for us, and then hands over the 
victory to us. 

My soul, hast thou put on the whole 
armor of God } Then fightings within and 
fears without can have no terrors for thee. 

Art thou reigning, or art thou cast down 
because of defeat.^ Art thou living at a 
poor dying rate, or the much more regnant 
life ? It is for thee to say. The Lord has 
oflfered thee the life more abounding. He 



32 DEEPER YET, 

has said that thou mayest reign if thou wilt 
receive. 

What dost thou need to-day? More 
courage, more patience, more gentleness, 
more love ? Behold, the Father's storehouse 
is open before thee. Ask in faith, and thou 
canst take. The Master will not withhold 
from thee if thou art willing to receive. 

Dost thou need endurance? Why art 
thou so often defeated ? Because thou art 
fighting alone. Art thou pressing forward, 
or art thou loitering in the rear ? Be valiant 
and courageous. Through Christ alone 
canst thou conquer. With Christ alone art 
thou safe. In Christ alone canst thou reign. 




The Three Crosses. 

God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto 
me, and I unto the world. — Gal. 6 : 14. 




™AUL'S one great absorbing passion 
|J^ was Jesus, the crucified. He could 
have boasted of birth, of attain- 
ments and education; but all things 
were of little weight since the experience 
of the Damascus road held before him the 
vision of Christ. He knew one thing 
well. He knew whom he believed. His 
life was fixed upon the sacrifice of Calvary. 
As the traveller gazes upon the Mount of 
the Holy Cross, in our West land, until 
nature's silent witness to the tragedy of 
Golgotha becomes photographed upon the 
mental vision, never to be forgotten, so 
Calvary stood before Paul, a constant vis- 
ion and inspiration, so that he could sing: 
'*! glory in the cross of Christ. I am not 
ashamed to throw myself at its foot, and 
plead for mercy; for he who hung upon 

33 



34 DEEPER YET. 

its crimsoned arms is my Lord and Sav- 
iour." 

I. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
We cannot fathom the mystery of godli- 
ness. Only this we do know: It was love, 
wondrous love, that sent Jesus to his cross. 
Sin made the cross necessary. Love ac- 
cepted the necessity for a sacrifice. Now 
we can come to God by the way of the 
cross. 

Princess Alice came into the room where 
her child was dying of a dread disease. 
*' Mamma, kiss me." Prudence suggested 
a denial of the request. But mother-love 
stooped down and kissed the blackened 
lips. It meant death to the mother, but it also 
meant supreme love. Does God love any 
less? Nay, the Son stooped down from 
glory, bared his heart for the spear-thrust, 
stretched out his hands for the nails, that 
sinners might be loved back to the Father's 
heart. 

His cross, planted in the earth, means 
that heaven has touched earth forever. 
Reaching up into the skies, it means that he 
will lead man to heaven. Stretching out 
with its wide arms, it means that the whole 
world may find a shelter in its embrace. 



THE THREE CROSSES. 35 

" Through all depths of sin and loss 
Sinks the plummet of the cross. 
Never yet abyss was found 
Deeper than that cross could sound.'* 

2. ''By whom the world is crucified 
unto me.'' Out of Christ's crucifixion 
grows the second cross. Can we say that 
with Paul ? Jesus has put the world where 
it belongs— beneath his feet. He drew his 
motives from above. His mission upon 
earth was to glorify the Father. 

This must be the motive of the saved soul. 
The world cannot furnish us with inspi- 
ration or with aims. It cannot suggest our 
joys or shape our living. 

Christ came to save us from this present 
world. ''I pray not that thou shouldest 
take them out of the world, but that thou 
shouldest keep them from the evil," from 
the fire of sin. The world, as God sees it, 
teems with base, ignoble purposes, and is 
at enmity with him. In Christ the world is 
crucified to the Christ-man; its mastery is 
broken. As we stand in the shadow of 
Calvary's cross, we read the definition of 
the world; and we say: '' I will no longer 
live for the world, but for Christ. He is all 
the world to me." 



36 DEEPER YET. 

3. *'\ am crucified unto the world." 
Paul chose the ignominy of the cross in 
preference to all that the world could offer. 
He willingly gave up all things for the ex- 
cellency of the gospel. He did not wist- 
fully look back and sigh for the old life be- 
cause of the hardships of the present one. 
He chose to be a comrade with Jesus, of 
the despised cross, and that choice was 
final. Henceforth he bore the marks of the 
sufferings of Jesus. 

A Christian had this dream : He seemed 
to be dead; and the angels, bending over 
him, said, *'He is dead." They felt his 
heart, and whispered, ''It does not throb.'* 
At last one came, and, lifting his hand, 
said: ''Nay, what is this? A nail-print in 
his palm. This man is not dead; he has 
been crucified with Christ, and lives with 
him." 

Blessed Father, we thank thee for the 
gift of thy love, thy dear Son, our Saviour. 
Give us grace, that not only the angels but 
the world may see that we live with Jesus 
a new life divine. Accept anew the glad 
dedication of body, soul, and spirit, that 
we may be true comrades of the cross, with 
Jesus Christ, our Saviour. 



The Divine Partnership. 



If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do.- 
John 14: 14. 




UR Saviour's farev^ell words to his 
disciples v^ere meant to be sun- 
beams, lifting the mists of a dark 
summer foreboding. 
A cloud of trouble w^as rising before them ; 
but, ''Let not your heart be troubled," the 
Master said. ''I am going aw^ay, and yet 
not from you. I w^ill not only prepare a 
place for you, but I v^ill be v^ith you alway. 
You may not understand all this now, but 
afterward you will know." The old 
promise was again about to be fulfilled, 
''Weeping may endure in the evening, but 
singing cometh in the morning." 

Tenderly and lovingly the Saviour sought 
to draw his disciples away from the con- 
templation of parting into the blessed truth 
of spiritual fellowship. 

The Christian need never be alone. Jesus 
has promised, " I am with you alway." In 
his utter solitude, when even the world may 
37 



38 DEEPER YET. 

forsake, the disciple may be sure that the 
heavenly Father will never leave or forsake 
his child. The dying Wesley said, v^ith 
almost his last breath, ''The best of all is, 
God is WWh us." 

When Samuel Rutherford w^as in the 
Aberdeen prison, he wrote thus to a friend : 
'' The Lord is with me; I care not what man 
can do. I burden no man, and I want noth- 
ing. No person is provided for better than 
I am. My chains are even gilded with gold. 
No pen, no words, nothing, can express the 
beauty of Christ. Every stone in my cell 
shines like rubies, because he is with me." 

But Christ is not only with us; he is also 
working with us. What an omnipotent 
promise! " If ye shall ask anything in my 
name, I will do." Mark the fact that the 
little word, *'it," found in the Authorized 
Version, is not in the original. The promise 
simply stands, **\ will do." Jesus is the 
Doer. We are the petitioners. The union 
of Master and disciples constitutes the divine 
partnership. ''If ye shall ask anything, in 
my name, I will be the Doer, I will be the 
answer to your prayers. I will see to it that 
all things work together for the good of my 
disciples." What an incentive this promise 



THE DIVINE FABTNERSHIP. 39 

is, to work and pray as we have never done 
before! 

What makes us more than conquerors, 
but this? Our great Captain obtains the 
victory for us, and then hands the triumph 
over to us. What does the promise mean, 
'' Without me ye can do nothing,'* but this ? 
Our weakness is linked with God's almighti- 
ness. The blessing of fellowship is involved 
in the divine partnership. We are God's 
workmanship, but we are also workers to- 
gether with him. Thus the promise of the 
New Testament clasps hands with that of 
the Old, ''Commit thy way unto me, and I 
will bring it to pass." 

My soul, hast thou heard f dost thou be- 
lieve ? Hast thou been misled by that little 
word, ''it," into thinking that the Father 
will only answer thy little requests, and will 
help thee only in the small things of thy 
pilgrimage } God can do all things. Do 
not limit the Father's love or power. Spend 
the promises lavishly. Bring large petitions, 
for thou art asking favors of the King of 
kings. 

Wilt thou be made whole, that thou 
mayest do better service } He will cleanse 
thee until thy heart is washed whiter than 



40 DEEPER YET. 

snow, and he will heal thee until thy strength 
is wholly his; and then he can use thee. 
Wilt thou have victory over temptations, 
over a quick temper, over an overbearing 
passion, over a hot impatience ? Ask him 
for his partnership, and he will do. His 
grace is always sufficient, if thou wilt only 
let him do with thee and for thee all that he 
desires. 

First let God work in thee to will and to 
do of his good pleasure, and then he will 
lift thee into the exalted place of working 
with him; and thou wilt realize more and 
more the great joy of the divine fellowship 
in service. 



Guidance and Glory. 

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward 
receive me to glory. — Ps. 73 ; 24. 




HE initial need of the human soul is 
sheer recovery from the penalty and 
the power of sin. Not by the power 
of the mind, nor by the might of 
the will, can man release himself from the 
thraldom of sin. God, infinite in mercy 
and love, has provided a release through the 
merits of his Son, upon whose innocent 
shoulders the storm spent itself, so that the 
soul might have a hiding-place from the 
winds and a covert from the tempest. After 
cleansing comes counsel, for the same Lord 
who said, ''I am the Lord that healeth thee,'' 
also said, ''I will guide thee." Faith sees 
the Saviour. Trust follows the Shepherd. 

Daily must we come to him for counsel. 
Let us say, the first thing in the morning: 
'* Blessed Lord, undertake for me. I do not 
know what is before me, but I know that 
thou art my Guide. Lead me, lest I stray 
away." 

41 



42 DEEPER YET, 

What an invincible Guide we have! An 
Alpine guide led a tourist party up the steep 
mountain, and came to a difficult pass. He 
steadied them, one by one, past the danger, 
holding out his hand as a support. One 
trembled as he faced the danger. The guide 
replied: '' Do not fear. Only lean upon me. 
This hand never lost a traveller." Ah, that 
greater Hand held out in blessing to human- 
ity, at last scarred on Calvary, never lost a 
soul intrusted to him. No power can pluck 
the soul out of his hand. 

How do we receive his counsel? By- 
prayer we commune with God. By our 
study of his Word he speaks to us. The 
Spirit enlightens the conscience and inter- 
prets the message. Religion is not an end- 
less search after the truth. Here, in the 
Word, is the record of God's truth. Jesus 
said, '*The Spirit will guide you into all 
truth." Accept the message. Study and 
dig deep. Compare duty with its com- 
mands. Square the life with the law. 
Match the work of the soul with the word 
of the Saviour. As the pillar of cloud by 
day and of fire by night guided the children 
of Israel through the wilderness, so the child 
of God is daily guided by the divine counsel. 



GUIDANCE AND GLOBY. 43 

And what then ? So intimate and close 
becomes the relation between the Guide and 
the guided that the pathway of glory shines 
out, and brightens the whole outlook of the 
soul. The pilgrim can sing: ''1 am contin- 
ually with thee; thou hast holden me by 
my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with 
thy counsel, and afterward receive me to 
glory." First comes training, then glory; 
first the work of discipline, then the finished 
journey; first the cutting of the jewel, then 
the sparkling of the gem; first the climbing, 
then the goal. 

Christ's way, often rugged and thorn- 
strewn and difficult, always leads to the 
shining city of the skies. We cannot lose 
our way if we are with him; for he has 
said, 'M am the way.'* Pilgrims travelling 
heavenward have their faces toward the 
light. Yonder at the pearly gates stands 
One ready to receive us, to welcome us, to 
make us feel at home, to say to us: ''Thou 
didst have some dark days, but this glory 
was awaiting thee. Thy earthly pathway 
was ofttimes shadowed by cloud and storm. 
Now all trial is past. Here is neither sickness 
nor sorrow nor night nor tears. Enter, my 
child, into the glory and the joy of thy Lord." 



44 DEEPER YET. 

Afterward! We do not know all now, 
but ye '* shall know hereafter." Afterward! 
Heaven's great surprise will be a perfect ex- 
planation. Afterward ! We shall know 
even as also we are known. Afterward! 
It will be well with the soul. Afterward! 
We may not know all the way now; but 
we know our Guide, and then **we shall 
be like him, for we shall see him as he is." 
O tired soul, burdened with grief and trial, 
shadowed by sorrow, and perplexed by 
many unexplained chastenings, trust thy 
Father God for the now and the afterward. 

" God is his own interpreter, 
And he will make it plain." 




Love's Rescue. 

Behold, on my peace came great bitterness, but thou 
hast loved my soul from the pit of corruption. — Isa. 38 : 
17. (Margin.) 




OW graphic and vivid a picture of 
the soul's rescue from the thraldom 
of sin ! Tv/o things came to the 
soul ; the pain of bitterness, and the 
blessing of rescue. The first is the result of 
sin ; the second is the work of love. 

Man longs for peace, and never willingly 
gives up the thought of securing it. Though 
the world's false apples turn to ashes, yet 
the heart hopes. Sin is a heedless guide. 
It first digs a pit, and then leads the soul 
into the snare. It promises happiness, but 
gives bitterness. It whispers, '' Your heart 
will be happy.'* It means, ''Your heart 
will be bitter.'' It smiles the soul onward, 
and then gloats over its poor victim, a pris- 
oner in the deep pit. It breaks the heart, 
and then chains it to the staple of despair in 
the prison-house of gloom. 
What then 1 The soul has no power of 

45 



46 DEEPER YET. 

its own to scale the walls, or to break the 
chains. What a mockery to say, '' What 
cannot be cured must be endured " 1 
What a crime to say, *'Make yourself as 
comfortable as possible, and by and by you 
will develop out of this dreadful condi- 
tion " ! Nay ; '' when lust hath^conceived, it 
bringeth forth sin ; and sin, when it is fin- 
ished, bringeth forth death." This is the 
evolution of sin. Is there no hope, no help ? 
Thank God for the supremacy of love. The 
only help can come from above. The poor 
prisoner of Chillon cut grooves in the slimy 
walls, that he might get a little nearer to the 
light ; but he could not escape. Thank God 
for the blessed word of hope. '* Behold, I 
have anointed my Son to bind up the 
broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the 
captives, and the opening of the prison to 
them that are bound." Jesus came to save 
from the uttermost to the uttermost. He 
stands at the opening of the pit. His very 
presence brings light and hope. Already 
there is a strange stirring of the heart as it 
looks up and sees love. The Master has 
come, whose very face inspires confidence. 
As he looks into the face of the prisoner, he 
says, '' I am able and willing to save thee ; 



LOVE'S EESCVE, 47 

art thou willing that I should ? " Only be- 
lieve, poor sinner ; for he has come to lift 
up thy despairing heart and to save thee. 

There is always a strange shrinking of 
sin before the presence of Christ, just as 
darkness gathers up its robes of gloom and 
departs when the glory-beams of the sun 
climb up the golden stairway of the morn- 
ing dawn. The stifling atmosphere clears, 
and even the pit, boasting so often of its 
power, now feels that it is face to face with 
its Master. 

Power linked itself with love, might and 
mercy joined hands, when Jesus stood at 
the tomb of Lazarus, his friend. Love cried 
out, through a rainbow of tears, ''Lazarus, 
come forth." The tomb felt the power of 
the Conqueror, and even death knew its 
Lord. 

So love stands at the dark pit of sin, and 
lifts the willing soul out of its lowest 
depths, shatters the chains that bind hand 
and foot, breaks the spell that binds the 
heart, and exclaims, **Now thou art free." 
Blessed Saviour, thou hast loved my soul 
out of the pit. Thy love has conquered. 
Thou hast led me from darkness into the 
light, from despair into hope, from weak- 



48 DEEPER YET. 

ness into strength, from death unto life, 
from the thraldom of Satan into the king- 
dom of thy love. 

What shall I do now ? Shall I continue 
in sin, that grace may abound ? Shall my 
life be a constant falling and rescue ? God 
forbid. I lived unto sin once ; nov^ help 
me to live wholly unto thee. O, 't was 
love, 't was wondrous love, that saved me, 
and every fibre of my being thrills with 
gratitude unto thee. May I never wander 
from the spell of thy love over me. Thou 
hast freed me; give me grace to use this 
freedom wholly for thee, in thy service, go- 
ing out and coming in, as the bond-servant 
of thy love." My soul, lift up thy hymn of 
praise to thy Redeemer. 

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, 

Out of the miry clay. 

He set my feet upon a rock, 

And established my goings. 

He hath put a new song in my mouth, 

Even praise unto our God. 

— Ps.40;2, 3. 



The Vision of God. 



This is none other but the house of God, and this is 
the gate of heaven. — Gen, 28: 17. 




HE religious nature is the deepest 
element in life, but that element 
may lie neglected in the human soul. 
Jacob of old is the striking example 
of this thought. Destined for a high place 
in the plans of God, he sought to gain this 
supremacy by deceitful methods, and thus 
his plans were turned into defeat. In his 
extremity the Lord appeared to him in the 
lonely solitude of the plains, and aroused in 
him the capacity to see the divine. The 
background was his own failure and his 
exile. With a stone as his pillow, the open 
heavens as his covering, he lay down in 
utter helplessness and despair. Then the 
heavens opened to him so that he saw 
somewhat of the glory, and he beheld the 
descending and the ascending angels. The 
soul, far removed from the deceits of the 
world, conscious of its own failure, faced 
heavenward, and thought on God. 

49 



50 DEEPER YET. 

No wonder that Jacob upon awaking felt 
the power of God stirring within him. He 
had seen something of God. The aspect 
of his life from henceforth would in some 
measure be changed. After that vision he 
could not be the same man as before. 

Mark the fact that the place had not 
changed. The same silence reigned. The 
same barren stretch of plain extended before 
him. The same bowlders lay at his feet. 
The stone pillow had not been transformed 
into jasper or pearl, but he had changed. 
He had seen the vision of the divine. Heaven 
had opened to him, with all its pure and up- 
lifting influences ; the consciousness of God's 
presence had penetrated his inmost soul. 
This was the real beginning of that trans- 
formation which changed Jacob into Israel 
as a prince who had prevailed with God. 
That is the deep lesson for us. True religion 
means more than interest in history, or the 
mastery of ethics and moral philosophy. 
We need a meeting-place where the soul 
can stand face to face with God and receive 
from him the vision of what life means, of 
the forces of life that strengthen the soul, of 
the power that links the possibilities of life 
with the armies and the chariots of heaven. 



THE VISION OF GOD, 51 

Our souls need such experience as Jacob 
had, to clarify our vision of eternity, and to 
make them conscious of God's presence. 
Prayer is much more than speaking words. 
It is the soul breathing the very life of God. 
It is joining the deepest reality of the spir- 
itual life v^ith the common, every-day duties 
of living. The soul v^ould be at a serious 
loss if it only had an abstract principle upon 
which to base the exercise of prayer. God's 
Word frequently connects prayer with a 
place. Jesus associated prayer with place 
when he sought the solitude of the moun- 
tain or the deep shades of an olive grove in 
order to be removed from the noises of the 
world and to enter into the solemn hush of 
the Father's presence. How earnestly he 
urged upon the disciples the need of enter- 
ing into the closet, '*and when thou hast 
shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is 
in secret." Did not Jesus mean that we 
were to have a place in our lives which 
should be filled with the most sacred associ- 
ations, and be surrounded by holy influences 
and hallowed experiences ? 

My soul, hast thou a holy of holies in the 
daily life; a place where thou canst retire, 
and meet thy Father God, and commune 



52 DEEPER YET, 

with him ? Thou dost enter into the spirit 
of public worship and prayer; canst thou 
also rejoice in the presence of God when 
thou art alone with him ? Canst thou hold 
thyself still enough so that the world is far 
removed, and thou dost not wander in 
thought or grow weary in waiting? Dost 
thou give only a few hurried moments in 
the morning, or a few wearied moments in 
the evening, for such a privilege of meeting 
with thy Father? How canst thou work 
well if thou dost pray so poorly ? Remem- 
ber that the disciples of old went from the 
upper room to the harvest of souls. O, seek 
often thy closet, and open wide thy door, 
that the heavenly Guest may enter; and then 
shut thy door to all the world, and verily 
thou shalt see God, and thou canst then live 
the transfigured life of thy Lord. 



1 



Through Knowledge to Trust. 

They that know thy name will put their trust in thee. 
— Fs. 9 : lo. 




OLY Spirit, teach us a deeper lesson 
concerning this simple, every-day 
privilege of trust. Help us to fill 
our empty chalices at the fountain 
of eternal waters, that our souls' thirst 
might be quenched. 

Faith is more than the apprehension of a 
doctrinal truth. Its truest expression is love 
for a person. We may say reverently that 
God always respects the powers of the 
mind and the heart with which he has en- 
dowed us. Jesus asked his disciples to be- 
lieve the message which he brought, be- 
cause confidence in and love for him had 
been awakened. 

We so often speak of the basis of faith. 
What is the nature of that basis ? We are 
continually demanding proof when we 
really need knowledge. Think for a mo- 
ment of earthly relations. Faith rests much 
more on our confidence in trustworthy men 

53 



54 DEEPER YET. 

than on sheer evidence which we receive 
through the senses. We know the man, 
and we then trust his word. Life grasps life 
by coming to know and to love it. They that 
know will trust. We rejoice in the pre- 
cious message that God knows us. *'The 
Lord knoweth them that are his." We re- 
joice in his perfect knowledge of us. ''The 
good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." 
''I know my sheep." 

But this is the other side of the truth. 
They who learn to know God will come to 
trust him, and the more they know him, 
the more will they trust. But mark this 
distinction between two kinds of knowl- 
edge. The one demands a perfect explana- 
tion before it can accept a message; the 
other asks for a closer fellowship with the 
one who reveals the message. The one 
wants proof; the other seeks love. Science 
is what we know by proof; religion is what 
we accept through confidence in God. 

What folly it is to hold God at arm's 
length, and say, 'Mwill not come closer 
until I know thee better"! In our friend- 
ships do we say: *'I should like to have 
more confidence in you, and trust you 
more; but I must hold aloof from you until 



THROUGH KNOWLEDGE TO TRUST, 55 

I find you trustworthy " ? We associate 
with friends, and live with them; and, as 
we learn to know them, we also learn to 
trust them. Without fellowship, trust such 
as God expects cannot exist. You might 
as well try to compel a little child to follow 
a total stranger as to make your heart trust 
God without living with him and loving 
him. 

*' Faith Cometh by knowledge,'' by hear- 
ing God's Word, the hearing of obedience. 
''He that hath my commandments, and 
keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." 
''Religion is the response of the inner to 
the outer." It is the human heart answer- 
ing its divine Lord. Come to the Word 
with a candid mind, a receptive soul, a 
willing heart, saying, "Dear Lord, reveal 
thy Word to me, and manifest thyself 
through thy Word." The Bible interprets 
God; but much more, God will interpret 
the Bible to us. 

Through knowledge to trust was the 
shining pathway which St. Paul trod with 
so much joy and triumph. Not even the 
darkness and the gloom of the Mamertine 
prison could shake his deep faith, for we 
can hear the triumph of victory in his very 



56 DEEPER YET, 

words, *'I know whom I have believed, 
and am persuaded that he is able to keep 
that which I have committed unto him 
against that day.*' 

Blessed Father, forgive me for being so 
slow to learn the privilege of trust. Thou 
hast revealed thyself through thy Son, that 
I might know thee, and that, knowing thee, 
I might implicitly trust thee. 

Give me the still hour, the quiet heart, 
that I may be conscious of thy presence. 
Calm the turbulency of my anxious heart 
with thy gentle grace. Dispel my misgiv- 
ings by revealing thy Word to me. Help 
me to study the Bible with the calm con- 
sciousness that thou art speaking to me 
through it. Thou knowest the trials of my 
faith. Forgive me if I walk slowly, for* I 
am as a little child before thee. Thou art 
my Lord. I will trust thee. I will obey 
thee. Sanctify the time allotted to me for 
my earthly life so that I may live wholly 
for thy glory and love. 



The Higher Life. 

Seek the Lord, and ye shall live. — Amos 5 : 6. 




HERE is life and life. The evidence 
of physical existence is our breath 
and our activity. We live and move 
and have our being, because God 
is our Creator. In the beginning God — . 
We live because he lives and wills and loves. 
But there is a higher life, which controls 
and shapes the physical, and manifests the 
image of God in us, though that image has 
been blurred and stained by the sins of our 
hearts. 

The command to seek the Lord presup- 
poses the power to seek, to think, to love. 
The dead cannot see. The lifeless cannot 
seek. God founds the possibility of seek- 
ing him upon the powers that he himself 
has given to man. We must have belonged 
somewhere if ever we were lost; and sal- 
vation means that the Son of God brings 
us back again to the Father to whose heart 
and home we originally belonged, and from 
which we wandered. Seek, and ye shall 
57 



58 DEEPER YET, 

find. There is no mystery; for, as we open 
the heart, God will come in with the wealth 
of his love and his life. 

God is love, and we shall find love in 
him. God is mercy, and he enters the 
human heart, and makes us conscious of 
forgiveness because of the sacrifice on 
Calvary. God is truth, and the Holy Spirit 
abides at the centre of our being to testify 
of Jesus. 

We seek God, but infinitely more God 
seeks us, that he may live in us and rule 
and reign over us. That is the higher life. 
Faith apprehends and trust appropriates. 
Love finds. A man has not truly begun to 
live until Christ lives in him. Paul said, 
"To me to live is Christ." He had made 
the supreme search and the supreme sur- 
render. '' I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth 
in me." 

The child born blind lived, but could not 
see. When in after years sight was restored, 
she saw beauty all around, and she ex- 
claimed: ''How beautiful! Mother, why 
did you not tell me how lovely everything 
was } " 

''My child, I tried to tell you, but you 
could not understand it." 



TEE HIGHER LIFE. 59 

"Ye must be born again/' is the message 
which leads to the true life. We cannot 
see, we cannot live as God counts life, un- 
less we have sought and found God, by the 
obedience of our faith and our acceptance 
of Jesus as the Lamb slain for us. 

Seek the Lord, not merely to know some- 
thing about him, not to be interested in his 
providences; but seek him for his sake, 
with an energy of trust, until you have 
passed the borders of the promised land and 
are in his presence. Then comes the true 
life, the life more abounding. 

**Thou shalt live.'* That surely does not 
mean that these bodies will go on breath- 
ing; for we see all around us men who re- 
fuse to seek the Lord, who are indifferent 
to every plea of love and offer of mercy; 
yet they live. But eternity determines the 
character of life. God means that the soul, 
seeking and finding him, shall know the 
power of an endless life, and shall not come 
into condemnation, but shall, now and for- 
ever, pass from death unto life. 

My soul, hast thou heard? ''Seek the 
Lord, and thou shalt live.'' Thy very life is 
at stake. Thou mayest be dying before thy 
body decays. Thou art meant for a nobler 



60 DEEPER YET. 

purpose than simply to breathe. God's life 
is held out to thee. Seek that first. Thou 
wilt have no rest until thou findest thy rest 
in him. Dost thou thirst for the living 
God ? Thank God that thou art thirsty, for 
then thou wilt seek the eternal fountain, and 
drink. Art thou hungry ? Thank God, for 
then thou wilt press into the banquet of 
love, and thou wilt be satisfied, and wilt re- 
ceive of his fulness. 

Thou shalt truly live only as thou art 
bound up in the bundle of life with thy 
Lord. In the secret of his presence, like 
Moses of old, thou mayest lift up thy weak 
hand, and, laying it in the hand of Omnipo- 
tence, thou wilt feel the thrill of the eternal 
life within thee; and thou canst sing in the 
very hour of dying and in the presence of 
death: **I live, I live forever. Thanks be 
unto God, who giveth me the victory 
through my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." 




The Stimulus of Defeat. 

As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee 
so to do. — DeuU i8: 14. 

HERE are certain providences of 
God with which we are not so 
familiar because we are not always 
sure that they are blessings, although 
faith ought to accept God's Word implicitly. 
Mercies in disguise are not very popular 
with us, because we cannot clearly see 
whether they are friend or foe, nor can we 
always make out their meaning. 

Is there any comfort in the thought that 
it is much better for us in many instances 
not to have certain things } Next to getting, 
contentment is the cheerful willingness to 
do without many things. This experience 
is so often beyond our understanding that 
it makes us unhappy and discontented. 

God's wisdom, which wrought so lov- 
ingly for the children of Israel, is still at 
work among those who put their trust in 
him. God leads, and he withholds. The 
Lord provides, and he denies. The Lord 

61 



62 DEEPER YET. 

has suffered us to do, and then he has not 
suffered us to do. We thank God for giv- 
ing. Shall we not also thank him for not 
giving ? If v^e only knev/ all, if vs^e could 
only enter into all the complicated needs of 
character-building, and v^hat it means to 
guard human life, we could then under- 
stand why God finds it necessary to with- 
hold as well as to give, since his thoughts 
are not our thoughts, nor are his ways our 
ways. 

If the thin veil of the material could be 
drawn aside, we might mark the dangers 
that pressed so near us, and threatened us 
with dire peril ; but the hand omnipotent 
was stretched out in our defence, and the 
danger was thrust aside, and we never knew 
of it at all. In many ways unknown to us, 
God's providences are alert sentinels for our 
safety. We shield our children from harm 
and danger by interfering with their de- 
sires. The child does not know ; the parent 
does ; and therefore the child's ignorance is 
protected by the parent's knowledge. The 
Heavenly Father will not permit us to enter 
upon what his supreme wisdom knows will 
injure us or mar our souls. 

Have we not found another reason why 



THE STIMULUS OF DEFEAT. 63 

the law of the Kingdom is, Not our wills, 
but God's will, be done ? We do not know 
very much. We are limited on all sides. 
But God knows and understands. Let him 
have his perfect way. Jesus in his earthly 
ministry set himself to the serious task of 
moulding common material into serious dis- 
cipleship. He gave his followers much, 
but he also denied them much. The Master 
Moulder works upon the characters of his 
disciples of all ages. **What I do thou 
knowest not now, but thou shalt know 
hereafter." It is not necessary to know the 
whole process ; it is sufficient to know that 
we are safe in his blessed hands. There is 
stimulus in defeat when trust can say, in 
the face of some denial, '*Thou knowest 
best." If the Father withholds, we can be 
sure that he has something better to give. 
If he takes away, we can be sure that it will 
work for our good. Let his providence 
spur us on to deeper faithfulness. 

An agonizing father knelt at the bedside 
of his only son, who was dying. 

'* I cannot give you up, my son." 

The child replied, '' Papa, find some other 
boys to take care of and to help." 

A university founded and endowed by 



64 DEEPER YET. 

the parents, where needy boys might re- 
ceive an education, was the result of the 
death of an only son, who in dying gave a 
new life-motto to his parents. 

May we read many messages concerning 
our life-work in the mellow or shaded light 
of our losses and our defeats. Let us 
patiently set our hearts to the most difficult 
tasks, because the Lord, who gives and 
withholds, always knows what we need ; 
and, though we may not now be able to 
fathom the plans of divine providence in 
our lives, or find a present key for each 
mystery, let us trust God, and be willing, 
obedient children, content to believe that 
he doeth all things well. 

" And, when through patient toil we reach the land 
Where tired feet with sandals loose may rest, 
. When we shall clearly see and understand, 

I think that we will say, * God knew the best.' " 



Paul's Three Ambitions. 

For me to live is Christ. — Phil, i : 21. 




HE whole life of the great apostle 

was intensified by this one thought, 

that Christ might reign supreme in 

him, and that the spirit of Christ 

might freely work through him. 

Zinzendorf, the ardent missionary of the 
last century, manifested the same intense 
purpose, when he said, **I have only one 
passion; that is he, only he.'* 

It is wrong not to be ambitious when 
such ambition means that the life is wholly 
given over to the life divine to do with it as 
God pleases. Dr. A. J. Gordon, of sainted 
memory, called special attention to the fol- 
lowing three ambitions, which throbbed in 
Paul's consecrated life. 

I. '* Be ambitious to be quiet." i Thess. 
4: II. Its primary reference was to a very 
practical duty, but its application to the 
spiritual life is obvious. ''In quietness is 
your strength." Fellowship with God can 
be conserved only as our souls are still 

65 



66 DEEPER YET, 

enough before him so that we can hear his 
voice and be conscious of his presence. 
We are prone to live noisy lives. We are 
fond of activity and outw^ard striving. We 
often mistake a stirring nature for deep liv- 
ing. The measure of our v^illingness to 
wait upon God will determine the measure 
of our spiritual strength. Deep lives are 
those that know the quietness of God's 
presence. ''We come to the mercy-seat 
on an errand of real life." God will hear 
us if we will hear God. There is too much 
hurry in our lives, too little desire to be 
alone with God. We are fitted for our 
most arduous tasks only by being con- 
scious of God's presence in our quiet mo- 
ments. If we would know how to work 
more, let us learn how to pray better. 

2. ''Wherefore we labor, that, whether 
present or absent, we may be accepted of 
him." 2 Cor. 5: 9. 

Paul's great desire was to please God. 
He worked and toiled under the eye of the 
Father. He cared not what the world 
thought. He did care what God thought 
concerning his daily life. It is so hard for 
us to realize that God sees us. " Thou God 
seest me " in all the details of my living. 



PAUL'S THREE A3IBITI0NS. 67 

We are in this world, not to please it, 
but to please God. May we hate all sham 
and hypocrisy, and cease forever from be- 
ing time-servers, and be out-and-out God- 
servers. Let us, in all places and at all 
times, be ambitious to please him. 

3. '' Yea, so have I strived to preach 
the gospel, not where Christ was named, 
lest I should build upon another man's 
foundation." Rom. 15:20. 

Next to Christ, Paul's great passion was 
for souls. He yearned to carry the gospel 
to those who had not heard the name of 
Jesus. He wanted to be the herald to the 
most forlorn hope, an under-shepherd, fol- 
lowing his Master out on the bleak and 
barren mountain slopes, hunting lost sheep. 

We are called to be workers for souls. 
Every member of Christ's church is a mis- 
sionary, a pastor. Christ meant that when 
he said, '*Go ye." The school of prayer, 
the quiet hour, the duty of pleasing him,— 
all this leads to the wholesome passion for 
souls. 

It is a mistake to think that the church 
exists only for the comfort of its members. 
It is a sheepfold, with a great many stray- 
ing sheep on the outside. *' Bring them 



68 DEEPER YET. 

in/' said Jesus. Out yonder, men and 
women are sinning, suffering, dying. Here 
are Christ's men and Christ's women, who 
have been rescued and are saved. If Christ 
were here, what would he do ? He would 
first seek and save the lost. But Christ is 
here in the person of every disciple who 
has received the Spirit. He has also given 
his commission. *'Go ye and disciple lost 
souls in my name. Live a pioneer life for 
me. Go forth to the conquest of souls for 
my sake. Lovest thou me, then feed my 
sheep. Make it your supreme passion to 
rescue human life at every life-saving 
station because of love for me. I am going 
to the uttermost parts of the earth. Whither 
go ye ? Are you ambitious to go with me ? " 
What answer shall we give? O, there 
can be only one answer as Christ is trans- 
figured before us, and we read our most 
sacred obligations in the light of his love 
and life. Yes, 

" I '11 go where you want me to go, dear Lord, 
Over mountain or plain or sea ; 
I '11 say what you want me to say, dear Lord ; 
I '11 be what you want me to be," 



Love Seeking Love. 




Lovest thou me more than these ? — John 21 : 15. 

HE Master met the defeated disciple, 
and forgave the denial by testing 
Peter's love. He does not say, 
'' Peter, why didst thou deny me } " 
but, ''Lovest thou me .^ Have repentance 
and sorrow clarified thy heart, until the 
dross has been swept away, and thou art 
conscious of thy love for me }'' Peter was 
not ready to serve until he was ready to 
love. Has Christ ever met us along the 
shore of life's sea, and has he put the same 
question to us, ''Tell me, dost thou really 
love me } " What answer have we given } 
We are in danger of magnifying the tan- 
gible and the practical, and of losing sight 
of the heart-life, without which all service 
is vain and perfunctory. We often say 
with a sigh, "We must do this or that in 
our service for God." I wonder what the 
Father thinks of that word, "must." Com- 
pulsion stifles love. Cold duty is a heart- 
less service. Christ's love constrains us, 

69 



70 DEEPER YET. 

but it will never compel us. Let us love 
God for his own sake. May we never grow 
so formal, so absorbed in our work, that 
we never say, ''Dear Father, I love thee." 
The little child comes to its father, and stirs 
his heart by saying, "Dear papa, I just love 
you.'' Are we not the children of God, and 
has he not said, ** I have loved thee with an 
everlasting love" ? 

An aged Scotch wife lay dying. The 
sorrowing husband sat at her side, and, see- 
ing that she was soon to leave him, he 
broke through his lifelong reserve, and 
said, ''Jane, if ever a woman was loved, I 
love you." The weary eyelids were raised, 
a radiant smile illumined her face, as she 
replied, "I kenned it, John, but O to hear 
you say it! " 

How much we lose by not giving expres- 
sion to our love! Why should we not often 
and often tell out our love to the one be- 
loved ? Why should we not be childlike 
enough to tell God of our love for him, and 
to answer his blessed love with our intense 
affection '? 

When the Master sought to teach the 
deepest lesson of the life of his kingdom, 
he placed a little child before the disciples. 



LOVE SEEKING LOVE. 71 

No matter how many years crown our 
heads, the heart must remain childlike, if 
we would live with our Father God. 

The great core and sweetness of Christly 
fellowship is the Master's question and 
Peter's answer. * ' Lovest thou me ? " *' Yea, 
Lord, thou kno west that I love thee. " * * But, 
Peter, lovest thou me more than thou lovest 
any one or anything else ? Am I first in thy 
heart ? " What is our answer ? 

The Psalmist's heartstrings thrilled with a 
pulse divine when he sang those words: 
*'Whom have I in heaven but thee? and 
there is none on earth that I desire beside 
thee." 

Love sends the loving heart out into the 
world to carry its message to other lives. 
That is the test of sincerity. 

My soul, dost thou love much or little.^ 
Remember her of old of whom the Saviour 
said she loved much because much had been 
forgiven her. Hast thou met thy Lord in 
the way ? Perhaps yesterday thou didst 
deny him. Shame upon thy weakness. 
Do not shun him. Stand face to face with 
him to-day. Listen; he is speaking to thee. 
''My child, lovest thou me?" Gather up 
all thy energy, thy power of faith and love, 



72 DEEPER YET, 

and let thy heart speak. Thrust the world 
aside, that thou mayest see only him. 
''Dost thou really love me?" Canst thou 
say : ' ' Blessed Lord, thou kno west all things. 
Thou knowest that deep down in my heart 
love for thee reigns and abides. Help me to 
express it to thee, to live in thy great love 
for me." Listen for the next answer. '' My 
child, the best way to show thy love for 
me is to love my other children enough to 
feed them and unselfishly serve them. Tell 
to others the story of thy Jesus and his 
love." Let this be the motto on thy shield, 
as thou dost go forth in the name of the 
King of love, ''\ love; therefore I serve." 



The Forgotten Place. 



My people 
Jer, 50 : 6. 



have forgotten their resting-place. — 




OW often the Christian longs for 
rest, and then does not really seek 
for it! We sing about it, we pray 
for it, we meditate upon it, as a sort 
of poetical fancy, but we are slow to take 
this rest from the outstretched hand of God. 
What is the true rest which God is so 
willing to give us ? It is surely not inaction. 
The most restless, joyless life is the indolent 
one. It cannot be a life of untroubled 
ease, for Jesus said that one of the marks of 
discipleship would be tribulation. It can- 
not be rest from burdens, or cessation from 
diificult service; for the rest of God can be 
appreciated only by those who actually bear 
the heat and the burden of the day. The 
invitation is to those who are weary and 
heavy laden. Those who are not will not 
care to come. 

Not rest from, but rest amid, the tasks of 
life; the rest of weakness which feels be- 

73 



74 DEEPER YET, 

hind it the strength of Omnipotence; the 
rest of faith, which knows God's sustain- 
ing grace, — this is the rest which the Father 
offers. Scientists tell us that rest is abso- 
lutely essential for the body, in order to 
supply the waste tissues, and to build up 
that which energy has used up. That law 
is just as true for the soul. We need spiritual 
strength daily. We have not an innate or 
latent supply. God alone is the reservoir of 
our power. We may build our own reser- 
voirs, but they are only like those which 
Jeremiah saw, scarring the hill-slopes, 
*' broken cisterns." 

God knows our inmost and utmost need. 
He is our very present help. God is the 
home of the soul. He is the resting-place 
of the heart. His secret place is secure 
from all invasion. We may live outwardly 
in the midst of uncertainty and change, 
close by strain and stress; but the Lord 
changes not, and in his presence there is al- 
ways serenity and peace. He will lift the 
life above every danger-point. The Lord is 
my fortress, the rock of my salvation. The 
eternal God is my refuge, and underneath 
are the everlasting arms. 

But God has a warning word for us. 



THE FORGOTTEN PLACE. 75 

*' My people have forgotten their resting- 
place." What poor memories we do have! 
We forget and forget, until we almost think 
that forgetting is a sufficient excuse. In 
God's sight it is a grievous sin to forget 
when it means lack of earnest faith and of 
thoughtful obedience. 

We forget when the energy of the self- 
life seeks to usurp the mastery of the Christ- 
life. How often we ask for mercies, and 
are never long enough at the mercy-seat to 
receive them ! 

We forget our resting-place when the 
means become ends instead of pathways up 
to God. We forget when we resist the 
Holy Spirit, and follow our own desires. 
We are so engrossed in our duties that we 
lose the consciousness of God's presence. 
*' In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in 
quietness and in confidence shall be your 
strength." 

*'My people have forgotten," not their 
market-place, but ''their resting-place." 
What help is the fountain when we turn 
away and stoop to the pool .^ What bless- 
ings can the still waters bring if we are 
wholly in the turbulent streams of life? 
Come back to God as the heart's resting- 



76 DEEPER YET, 

place. Rest on the eternal foundations. 
Steady the soul upon the Rock of Ages. 
The hand clasped in God's omnipotent, lov- 
ing hold will no longer grasp at mere earthly 
things. Everything will be sacred. Every- 
thing will be God's. 

O my soul, never forget thy resting-place, 
forget not that thy place of power is also 
thy place of rest; for, as thou dost serve, 
thou mayest also lean upon the everlasting 
arms. 

Blessed Father, we need thy constant 
presence. We want to know thee better. 
Give us wisdom to esteem above all else the 
blessing of resting upon thee. Thou wilt 
forgive our sins, but thou dost never forget 
us. Forgive us for forgetting, and help us 
to be more thoughtful, more responsive to 
thy life and love. Draw us closer to thy 
strong and warm heart, so that we may 
never forget that thou art the true home of 
the soul. 



Through the Fires. 



For he is like a refiner's fire. And he shall sit as a 
refiner and purifier of silver. — MaL 3 : 2, 3. 




HE Lord speaks to us in words which 
we can understand. The Lord is 
like — and then follows some human 
relation which pictures a daily scene 
or a common occurrence, translating his wise 
plans. 

He is like a refiner, nay, like the refiner's 
fire itself, worker and implement combined. 
He will not leave the precious work of re- 
fining a human soul to circumstances or to 
abstract, soulless things. He works, he 
moulds, he refines. He comes with the 
fire. His hand holds the instrument. In 
his control are the fires which cleanse and 
purify. 

How this precious truth lifts the whole 
thought of pain and sorrow and bitter ex- 
perience out of the mystery of the unknown 
into the realm of the Father's doings and 
of our faith and trust ! 
We are the ore, holding within our sen- 
77 



78 DEEPER YET. 

tient beings much that is precious and also 
much that is base and ignoble. The two 
cannot lie together and form godly charac- 
ter. Man has tried for ages to discover 
some human alchemy by which the heart 
might be purified and the soul washed of 
its sin. Centuries of ingenuity have been 
expended in the vain search. The world 
has been challenged to bring forth its sub- 
tlest plans, its wisest theories, its deepest 
philosophies. Who can forgive sin .^ What 
power can bring golden conduct out of 
leaden thought } All has been in vain, save 
as human life has listened to the words and 
the voice of God. ''Come and let us rea- 
son together," not about the fact of sin. 
That needs no argument. But this, God is 
willing to do, if we are willing that he shall 
do it for us: ''Though your sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be white as snow." 

The type and symbol of salvation found 
its perfect fulfilment in the cross, and upon 
that cross hung the bleeding Son of God, 
who for the joy that was set before him de- 
spised the shame, that he might save the 
souls of men. He passed through the fires, 
that we might be spared the bitterness of 
the ordeal ; and, now that a perfect recon- 



THROUGH THE FIBES. 79 

ciliation has been made, he is ever seeking 
to crown human life with the glory of the 
Father. Jesus Christ is the refiner and the 
fire. He is the power and the wisdom of 
God, who cleanses the heart, and out of the 
poor, powerless material brings forth the 
spotless character and the shining soul. 
His fire of love burns out the dross and 
purifies the life. 

This is certainly true in the sanctification 
of the soul. We have not as yet attained, 
nor are we yet perfect. Much needs yet to 
be done before we walk in white in the 
city beyond the skies. Jesus is seeking to 
put upon us the sterling stamp of perfect 
workmanship. 

For this reason we pass through the re- 
fining fires of disappointments, which are 
really his appointments. Sorrow and pain 
come with their heavy burdens, not to crush 
us, but to take out of our lives the things 
that are useless and debasing. Let Jesus do 
his perfect work in us. He desires to see 
in us the divine image, for a refiner sits 
at his work, and is sure that the fire has 
burned out all the dross only when he can 
see his own image reflected in the molten 
mass. Until the Lord sees in us his re- 



80 DEEPER YET, 

fleeted image the furnace experience must 
be ours. 

''Blessed are the pure in heart, for they 
shall see God." Shall we shrink from the 
ordeal when we know the divine purpose } 
Shall the ore say, *'Not now: I fear the 
fire; I dread the pain"? Nay, welcome 
the chastening which makes the divine im- 
age brighter in us. It may seem grievous 
now, but ''afterward it yieldeth the peace- 
able fruit of righteousness." 

Welcome the wound which has such a 
great Physician to heal it, who promises 
perfect health. Welcome the discipline of 
the one hand when with the other hand he 
draws us closer to him. Welcome the fire 
and the refiner's toil of love when the pre- 
cious treasure of the Lord is separated from 
all that tarnishes and debases, and the shin- 
ing soul is the finished work. 

" Who would not have pain like mine 
To be consoled like me ? " 




God's Property. 

I have called thee by thy name ; thou art mine. — Isa, 
435 I- 



T is very important for us to have 
positive thoughts concerning God. 
We ought to be familiar with his 
Word, but much more we ought to 
know God. Eliphaz said, ''Acquaint now 
thyself with him, and be at peace." To 
know God brings peace. To be a stranger 
to him means unrest and orphaned Hfe, 
and at last eternal separation. 

The knowledge of God is the aim of the 
Word. Jesus came to reveal the Father. 
Paul cries out, ''That I might know him." 
And then, when the closing days came, he 
exclaimed in triumph, "I know whom 1 
have believed." It is most blessed to know 
God, for Jesus taught us to say, "Our 
Father." We are his children, the mem- 
bers of his family. 

It is our privilege to realize what the 
Father thinks of us, what he is willing to 
do for his children. He knows us. He 
81 



82 DEEPER YET. 

loves US. He remembers our names. The 
Good Shepherd said, ''\ know my sheep." 
He calls them by name. He cares for them 
and protects them. 

As a child is reassured in the dark by a 
father's voice, so we can hear the voice of 
the Father bidding us, ** Fear not, for I have 
redeemed thee." Salvation is a family 
blessing. As God's children, we are saved 
from sin and temptation, and kept from 
danger, all along life's journey. The 
Father's roof over us, the Father's hand 
grasping ours, the Father's love round about 
us, as the mountains are round about Jeru- 
salem, — this is the great privilege of the 
Father's children. 

How tender his love is in the speaking of 
these words! **I have called thee by thy 
name, thou art mine! " We bear the name 
of Christ, and are known as Christ's men 
and Christ's women. His name is our in- 
spiration for service and our plea in prayer. 
The native African convert, desiring to 
work for his Lord, came to the missionary, 
and said, ''I am now a Jesus Christ man." 

But mark the meaning of the message. 
'*I have called thee hy thy name,'' Amid 
all the numberless creations in the universe 



GOD'S PROPERTY. 83 

God can single out his children and call them 
by name. 

Imagine the thrill of joy when in a strange 
place and amid a multitude of foreign peo- 
ple we should hear our names mentioned, 
and recognize a familiar voice. What a 
blessed truth! The Father calls us by 
name. He whispers it to us amid our afflic- 
tions and trials. **I know you and love 
you." He speaks to us, when temptation 
surges in upon us. *'I am watching over 
you." 

*'Now are we the sons of God." We 
belong to a family, the Father of which in- 
timately knows all the children. Let us not 
be misled or deceived into thinking that 
God does not care for us in all the details of 
living or in the smallest affairs of our life. 
He knows, he loves, he cares. Take him at 
his word. Accept his promises, and then 
with eager love and faith spend them 
lavishly. Use these promises, as love's 
provision, for every emergency, and press 
them into their fullest meaning and purpose. 

*'The Master is come, and calleth for 
thee." As a father, by simply calling, can 
indicate his wishes to a child, so the 
Heavenly Father expects us to be in such 



84 DEEPER YET. 

close fellowship with him, faith so willing, 
conscience so sensitive, heart so pure, that 
we can respond and obey. 

My soul, thy Lord calleth thee by name. 
Let not any worldly thing influence thee or 
dull thy ear so that thou canst not hear and 
answer. Remember whose thou art and 
whom thou servest. Be sensitive to God's 
voice. Live so near to the gate of heaven 
that its life may flood thy life, and stand so 
near to the Lord's throne that he may send 
thee instantly upon his errands. See to it 
that thy name is untarnished and unstained, 
that, when he desires to call thee, he may 
not find it impossible to speak thy name 
because it is impure and spotted. 

May thy God put his seal of favor and de- 
light upon thy life, so that the world may 
read this message, though it may not un- 
derstand thy source of power: ''This life 
belongs wholly to God." 




The Divine Pattern. 

See that thou make all things according to the pattern 
shewed to thee in the mount. — Heb. 8 : 5. 




HE greatness of our God is revealed 

in his control of the details of life 

with the same concern and regard 

v^hich he manifests in ruling the 

v^hole universe. 

The first tabernacle, erected among the 
children of Israel, and standing for the pres- 
ence and the worship of God, was not 
planned by Moses or any other earthly archi- 
tect. Human ingenuity and wisdom were 
illumined from above. '' Before Moses built 
it, he saw the whole plan and pattern of it, 
in prophetic vision. In some secluded spot, 
on Sinai's heights, the tabernacle stood be- 
fore him, woven out of sunbeams; and 
then he descended to the mountain-foot to 
repeat the vision in actual curtains, gold, 
and wood.'* 

God is in his holy temple, because he first 
designed it, and then as owner he occupies 
his rightful place. 

85 



86 DEEPER YET, 

''Know ye not that ye are the temple of 
the Holy Ghost ? " We are the tabernacles 
of God, and he is ever seeking souls who 
will build temples according to his plan 
and purpose. 

Jesus came to tell us what it meant to be 
a temple of the living God. He came to 
dwell with men, that he might teach men 
to dwell with God. His name is Emman- 
uel, '' God with us," in order that he might 
reveal to us the supreme privilege of offer- 
ing to the Father a dwelling-place. 

What a radiant thought! God pleads 
with us to be spiritual builders, and to make 
all things according to the pattern of his 
Son, that he might come in and abide with 
us. 

As means of grace this spiritual temple 
has three rooms. First, the Scripture-room. 
God has spoken to us in words that we 
may hear and understand. The Bible is his 
Word. We cannot build without consult- 
ing his plan. Search the Book. Study the 
Word. How can the Holy Spirit testify of 
Jesus to us if we have little knowledge of 
him ? 

Second, the throne-room. Christ must 
be the Lord of the life. The obedience of 



THE DIVINE PATTERN. 87 

faith crowns him King of kings. He must 
be the sole owner of the soul. Each heart 
must have a coronation service in which 
Jesus becomes the all and in all. *'I live, 
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." I live, 
but Christ sits upon the throne, and reigns 
over me. Live in the throne-room, until 
you enter into the fulness of that word, 
''my Lord.'' Put Jesus on the throne, hand 
over everything to him, and let him reign 
and rule with the sceptre of his power. 

Third, the holy of holies, the prayer- 
room. The purpose of temple-building is 
to glorify God, to witness for Christ. 
''There I will meet with thee, and I will 
commune with thee.*' The whole visible 
tabernacle was this centre, the mercy-seat, 
and everything else was built around it. 
The Christian who neglects to live in the 
prayer-room cannot hope to grow in grace. 
We cannot be true disciples and refuse to 
seek the mercy-seat. 

Jesus was the great master of prayer. 
The quiet hour, alone with his Father, on 
the mountain-slope or beside the inland 
sea, meant everything to him. 

When Moses finished all the preliminary 
work, the glory of the Lord came down 



88 DEEPER YET, 

and filled the temple by day and by night. 
As we live with God, and cease from all 
our human plans and human strivings, 
God's fulness will come in upon us, and 
his glory will be shed abroad in our hearts. 
Are these three rooms our living-rooms 
in our Christian life, or have we closed 
them or neglected them, and are we living 
somewhere on the outside? The Word, 
the throne, the prayer, how much do they 
mean in our lives ? May we truly say: ''\ 
cannot live my Christian life without abid- 
ing in these sanctuaries of the temple. 
They are my living-rooms." O Father, in- 
terpret thy word to me in the Scripture- 
room. O Saviour, reign entirely over me, 
in my throne-room, for thou art my King. 
O Sanctifier, lead me into the presence of 
my God, so that my prayer-room may open 
out before the divine mercy-seat. 



The Time Factor. 

Remember how short my time is. — Ps, 89 : 47. 




CIENCE or philosophy may explain 
something about life, but God alone 
can reveal its plan and destiny. 
We are in contact with the tangible, 
but we are also surrounded by the invisible. 
To-day is linked with the eternal. Mark 
the passing of time. David recalls the 
brevity of his allotted moments. Paul 
speaks of the fact, **Time is short." John 
in the beginning of Revelation points to the 
importance of his message, for ''the time 
is at hand." In the progress of the vision 
the angel bears this solemn message, '* Time 
no longer." Thus the history of the soul 
on this earth may be expressed in the terms 
of time. Even though we reach seventy 
years, fifteen years of childhood and twenty 
years of unconscious sleep take up half of 
it, and days of sickness and sorrow draw 
heavily upon the other half. What does 
our dower of time mean } God's Word 
speaks plainly. '' Here you fix your eternal 

89 



90 DEEPER YET. 

destiny. Here you determine your heaven 
or hell. Here settles there. Here are you 
building for eternity." 

Are we redeeming the time ? Are we 
earnestly buying up every opportunity for 
soul-culture and for God's glory ? How 
are these golden hours slipping by, — 
freighted with the fruits of consecrated liv- 
ing, or are they only vain, empty, idle air- 
bubbles ? 

A condemned man was told that his 
supply of water would measure the time of 
his reprieve. Do you blame him for scru- 
pulously saving every drop or using it as if 
it were liquid gold ? 

Are we thoughtful concerning time, 
reckoning only upon the present moment as 
ours } The next one may find us in the 
presence of God. The apostles repeatedly 
urge time's shortness as an argument for 
instant decision or immediate obedience. 

Jesus had ever before him the end of his 
earthly mission, and his motto was, '* I 
must work the works of him that sent me; 
the night cometh, when no man can work." 
To the faithful toiler the coming of the 
night will not mean gloom or darkness, but 
the rest which cometh after work. Paul 



THE TIME FACTOR, 91 

could say, *M have finished my course." 
But that was only an echo of the Master's 
triumphant words, **1 have finished the 
work which thou gavest me to do." But 
what a night it will be for those who have 
squandered time, and have idled away their 
moments! The man without a wedding- 
garment simply neglected to do what he 
ought to have done when he had the time. 
Then it was too late. 

Time, next to character, is the most valu- 
able element in life, for it is our portion of 
eternity, loaned to us, in which we are to 
prepare for all eternity. God's great *' now " 
is ringing in our ears. Every impulse to a 
better, more faithful life, every stirring 
within us toward God and eternity, is the 
Holy Spirit drawing us away from the en- 
tanglements of earth into the reality of 
eternity. In the quiet hour, when we are 
conscious of unseen realities, when we are 
thoughtful, we can best learn the value of 
time. What does all this indifference mean ? 
Simply that men do not believe God's 
Word. They are not much interested in 
the building of characters which shall out- 
last the stars. The only inevitable outcome 
of a Christless here is a Christless eternity. 



92 DEEPER YET. 

Some day, in the hushed and waiting cham- 
ber, the world will seem very small, and 
eternity very near. The hour-glass will 
hold but a few grains of the golden sand. 
What then ? An infidel cried out at such a 
time, **I am about to take a leap into the 
dark." 

But listen to David's song, ''Though I 
walk through the valley of the shadow of 
death, thou art with me." Listen to Paul, 
*'I have a desire to depart, and to be with 
Christ." But, best of all, hear the words 
of the blessed Saviour, ** If a man keep my 
saying, he shall never see death." Like the 
absent son, away from home for a long 
time, who comes back again, and has eyes 
only for the loved ones, so the disciple, 
looking to Jesus, will pass the shadows and 
stand upon the eternal shores of glory. 
So shall he ever be with his Lord, and the 
work of grace and time shall outshine the 
ages. Blessed Father, teach me so to num- 
ber my days that I may apply my heart 
unto wisdom. 



The Lens of Purity. 



Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 
---Matt. 5 : 8. 




HERE is a legend that the angels ring 
a sweet-toned bell at twilight, but 
only those whose hearts are free 
from sin and passion can hear it. 
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall 
hear the music of heaven. 

So there is also a vision of heaven which 
comes only to the pure-hearted. The vision 
of God is gathering around us just as the 
chariots and armies of heaven encamped 
upon Dothan's plains and hills. 

God can be seen in life's sunshine and 
shadow. His presence is felt amid the 
toils and respites of service. His dear hand 
can be recognized, leading to still waters or 
across turbulent waves. He comes in the 
early morning hour, and blesses the begin- 
ning of the day. He abides with us at 
evening, and watches over us through the 
night. 
But who can see ? The natural man can- 

93 



94 DEEPER YET, 

not know the things of God, because they 
are spiritually discerned. He who would 
see the things of God must be in the Spirit. 
If you would meet God, you must first meet 
his conditions for seeing. Jesus was not 
seen by the multitudes after his resurrec- 
tion because henceforth the spiritual king- 
dom could be only spiritually discerned. 

Intellect is a mighty power. It can har- 
ness the material forces. It can make wind 
and wave do its bidding. It sends its mes- 
sages by the flash of the lightning. It can 
track the stars and mark the pathway of 
the planets. But it cannot find or see God. 
The finest microscope or the longest tele- 
scope cannot discover him. What is denied 
to imperial intellect is given to simple faith, 
but simple faith must look through a pure 
heart. 

" Blind unbelief is sure to err 

And scan his work in vain ; 
God is his own interpreter, 
And he will make it plain." 

The heart burdened with unforgiven sin, 
or tarnished with the world's life, or ob- 
scured by unbelief, cannot see the heavenly 
vision. God can do nothing for an impure 



THE LENS OF PURITY, 95 

heart unless he first cleanse it. The power 
that cleanses also removes the blindness. 
*' Once I was blind ; now I can see." 

The blessing of the pure heart is the be- 
ginning of fellowship with the pure and 
holy God. Faith and purity offer to God a 
life in which he can dwell. 

" Near, so very near to God, 
Nearer I cannot be. 
For in the person of his Son 
I am as near as he." 

As the gospel, which came from above, 
is first pure, then peaceable, so our hearts 
must first be pure before we can have the 
peace of God's presence. O- that we might 
long more and more to be children of the 
pure heart and open vision, hating sin and 
striving to live clean, holy lives, and to keep 
ourselves unspotted from the world! We 
can see God only as the lenses of faith are 
cleansed and kept clean by obedience. 
Blessed are the pure-hearted, for they shall 
discern the Lord, until at last they shall see 
him eye to eye and face to face. 

My soul, hast thou heard the voice of 
God, and yet thou canst not see him ? The 
fault lies wholly with thee. Thou canst not 



96 DEEPER YET, 

see, because thou art wilful, impure, dis- 
obedient, and the vision is withheld. Offer 
up thy prayer, ''Lord, cleanse me that I 
may see." Keep thyself pure, and thou 
shalt see. 

And dost thou ask, " How may I retain 
the vision of God ? '* Thou canst not hold 
it by a dreamy, serviceless life. '' He that 
hath seen me hath seen the Father,*^ said 
Jesus. If thou wouldst retain the vision, 
thou must obey his word and do his will. 
Only those who work with him can walk 
with him. The burning heart will manifest 
the fellowship of Christ as thou dost go 
forth in his name to tell to others the bless- 
ing and the gospel of the pure heart. Make 
haste and do his bidding, and verily on the 
King's highway thou shalt see the King in 
all his beauty. 

Blessed Father, I crave the precious vision 
of thyself, that my restless life might be 
quieted in thy presence. Sanctify my heart, 
'and make me pure, that I may see thee and 
rejoice in thy fellowship. Deepen my pure 
life, that I may see the highest vision. 



God's Vigilance. 

He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. — 
Zech, 2 : 8. 



^ ■ |Myfg [[HAT God has said concerning his 
mmm i ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ applies to every 
Ik 1^ member of Zion. It is wonder- 
™'^^^™ l ful how patiently God seeks to 
impress upon our reluctant minds the min- 
istry of his love, which he extends to his 
children in all the details of hfe. Here he 
uses the eye as the object-lesson to teach us 
the lesson of his loving providence. ''He 
that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his 
eye.'* 

How marvellous an organ the eye is, per- 
fect in its mechanism, in its protection, and 
in its sensitiveness! It is so finely set that 
its use comes to us almost unconsciously. 
It is so delicate that God has placed the 
most sensitive and alert sentinels to watch 
over its safety and welfare. The slightest 
interference with its functions, the smallest 
foreign particle, is at once felt and known. 

97 



98 DEEPER YET, 

Touch the apple of the eye, and the whole 
physical organism is aware of it. 

This is the object-lesson to teach us the 
vigilance of God in our behalf. In this 
world we are lifted into fellowship with 
God through faith in his Son. But evil 
forces are constantly around us. We can- 
not hope to escape the enmity of the world 
or the temptations of the evil one. If we 
are the friends of God, the enmity of the 
world will increase. Nor are we able, 
single-handed, to cope with the powers of 
evil. This is our sure defence. These hos- 
tile forces may surge upon us up to a certain 
limit, and our fears may perhaps see the 
plains filled with enemies. But our divine 
Protector stands between us and the danger, 
and challenges the enemy: '' Go no farther. 
He that toucheth one of the least of these 
toucheth the apple of mine eye. These are 
my children, and I throw around them the 
protection of my omnipotence." Above 
and around the armies of the plains are the 
chariots and the legions of heaven. When 
God is on our side, alert, vigilant, almighty, 
who can prevail against us ? 

This object-lesson also suggests our union 
with God. Sin separates from God. Evil 



GOD'S VIGILANCE. 99 

drives us into the wilderness of temptation. 
But God loves, and his love has searched us 
out; for we are as dear to him as the apple 
of his eye. He brings us back again to his 
heart, and we are no longer prodigals, but 
children of his household. *'He that is 
joined unto the Lord is one spirit." We 
are bound up in the same bundle of life with 
our Lord. 

This also suggests the value which God 
puts upon his children. We are precious in 
his sight. He is concerned about our wel- 
fare. He loves to guard us and protect us. 

This also suggests his loving care. '* God 
will take care of you; be not afraid." He 
will not permit sorrow to crush you. 
Though the waters of affliction come over 
you, they shall not overwhelm you. David 
prayed very earnestly, **Keep me as the 
apple of the eye," and afterward, out of the 
experience of fulfilled promises, he could 
have sung, '' He kept me, he kept me as the 
apple of his eye." 

This also suggests divine sympathy. As 
the eye is intensely sensitive, and responds 
to the slightest touch, so God not only thinks 
of us, but he answers our faintest cry; he 
knows our frame, and he will respond to 



•FC^. 



100 DEEPER YET. 

the cry of danger and need. He identifies 
the humblest soul with his infinite wisdom, 
'* I am with you, saith the Lord/' 

Blessed Father, thou hast put thy infinite 
value upon our poor human lives. Thou 
dost say to all adverse forces, ''He that 
toucheth this child of mine toucheth the 
apple of mine eye." We thank thee for thy 
great vigilance. Help us to live so close to 
thee that thy eye may not only guard us, 
but also guide us. Give us grace to reach 
up more and more into the eternal security 
of thy omnipotent vigilance. Help us to be 
so sensitive to thy voice and will that we 
may respond to every word of thine. Keep 
us, for we cannot keep ourselves, and de- 
liver us from all evil, until at last, with shin- 
ing soul and perfect heart, we shall live 
with thee in the bright mansions beyond the 
skies. 




In God We Trust. 

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. — Fs. 

2 I 12. 




AVID'S confidence expressed itself 
in this triumphant confession: '*0 
my God, I trust in thee." Job in- 
dicated the depth of his trust by 
exclaiming, '* Though he slay me, yet will 
I trust in him." Trust is the genuine cur- 
rency in the kingdom of heaven. 

Our life is in God. In him we move and 
have our being. In him we may also trust. . 
As the mountains encircled the Holy City, 
so his presence is round about us, and our 
eyes of faith may see him. 

Faith opens the door of the heart; love 
welcomes the Lord, and crowns him King; 
and trust bids him remain as the abiding 
guest of the life. His presence is real to us, 
because we are his children and he has given 
us the Spirit of his Son, who teaches us to 
say, ''Abba, Father." 

A little child was walking with a grown 
friend. As she wandered along, she plucked 

101 



102 DEEPER YET, 

a beautiful flower. She gazed into its face 
with such wistfulness that he asked, ''My 
dear, what does it look like?" She raised 
her sweet face until the light of it caught 
his eye, and then she said so reverently, 
''Why, it looks like God." There was in 
her heart, in some measure, the conscious- 
ness of God's presence. 

It is not God's almightiness that brings 
the peace of trust, but his fatherliness that 
inspires love and confidence. We go to the 
humblest home blessed with love, and we 
see in the father-love or the mother-love the 
precious counterpart of God's love for us. 

We are not asked to fathom its infinity 
or to understand its eternity. Surely a child 
can receive and return love without under- 
standing it. Trust, then, is the placing of 
ourselves so near God that we may love 
him more and more, and share in his plans 
for us as children take some part in the 
plans of their parents. Obedience is the 
door that opens into privilege. If we obey, 
all things are possible. If we disobey, we 
shall lose many things. 

Perhaps some weary soul, battling with 
doubt, conscious of only uttering self, is 
saying: "I wish that I could know just 



IN GOD WE TRUST, 103 

what to do, to trust more. I am like a 
child, who knows a few rudiments, and re- 
peats them over and over again without 
getting any farther." 

''\ being in the way, the Lord led me." 
With open heart and candid mind, come to 
the Word, receive its message as you would 
a pressing invitation from your dearest 
friend, by believing what the Word has 
said. Then trust God because he has 
spoken to you, and you will grow in your 
trust as you grow in your love for him. 

An artist long sought a piece of fine 
sandalwood out of which to carve a Ma- 
donna. He was about to give up his search, 
when in a dream he was bidden to carve 
his masterpiece out of a block of common 
oak wood destined for the fire. Many of us 
are waiting for some great experience, 
which shall lift us into greater trust. The 
true method is simply to believe what God 
has spoken and take him at his word. 

Dear Father, thou knowest all about me. 
Draw me by the cords of love so close to 
thee that in thy presence 1 might grow in 
trust. Forgive me for doubting thee, and 
disclose thyself to me, that my little faith 
may increase to implicit confidence. 



104 DEEPER YET, 

I thank thee that my soul is opening more 
and more to the Spirit's indwelling. Sweep 
thy light into every corner of my heart, that 
I might see my life as thou seest it, and 
mark the shining way before it. 

Not with the eye of sense, but with the 
obedience of trust, may I faithfully follow 
my Jesus wherever he leads and whenever 
his dear voice calls. My faith looks up to 
thee, my blessed Father. I am thy property, 
thy child. 1 do trust thee. 

**Take my lips, and speak through them. 
Take my mind, and think through it. Take 
my heart, and set it on fire with love's sa- 
cred flame." 





The Lost Chord. 

Wilt thou not revive us again : that thy people may 
rejoice in thee ? — Ps. 85 : 6. 

" Come Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, 
With all thy quickening powers; 
Kindle a flame of sacred love 
In these cold hearts of ours." 

HAT is our utmost and pressing 
need to-day ? It is not material 
comforts, not greater prosperity, 
not opportunity to serve, not 
more forms in which to express our wor- 
ship. We have all the appointments. But 
God is Spirit, and they who worship him 
must worship in spirit and in truth. Deep 
down in the Christian heart there is an in- 
tense longing for something more perma- 
nent and enduring, an intuition which rises 
above the material, and hungers for God. 
There is always danger that the material 
may usurp .the place of the spiritual in the 
life. It can never take its place, but it can 
hem it in and stifle its expression. The 
psalmist felt this. Surrounded by royalty 

105 



106 DEEPER YET. 

and wealth, he cried out, ''O Lord, revive 
me, lest these things overwhelm my soul." 
We are always in danger of becoming like 
the earth-clods at our feet. The ear be- 
comes dull, the light of faith is dimmed, the 
soul becomes sordid. ''O Lord, send thy 
life into my poor spasmodic living. Send 
thy light into my flickering dimness." 

Why can we not be constant and firm in 
our religious life ? Why cannot the waters 
of salvation run through the channels with 
steady flow ? Simply because we are spas- 
modic in our obedience. How much we 
are like our local rivers, now almost dry, 
and then overflowing their banks, hurrying 
to the sea, only to meet the ebb and the 
flow of the ocean. 

But this is not God's plan for our lives. 
O that we might be constant and willing in 
the day of his power! You remember the 
story of the lost chord. A musician sat at 
the organ, wearied with life's problems. 
His fingers, wandering over the keys, sud- 
denly struck a chord of music that thrilled 
him. It was like the sound of heaven's 
great '*Amen." The discord of his life 
gave way to the celestial harmony. And 
then the sound died away, and the old pain 



THE LOST CHORD. 107 

came back. He sought in vain for that 
chord, and at last, almost in despair, he said, 
'' It may be that only in heaven 1 shall hear 
that grand Amen." 

Is this to be the history of our soul-life ? 
Must w^e v^ait until then to get our hearts in 
tune with the Infinite ? The blessed Father 
is v^illing to-day to tune our hearts to his 
harmony if v^e v^ill be willing instruments 
in his hand. The soul surrendered to him 
will find its truest harmony in doing the 
divine will. 

A poor invalid sitting in the gloaming 
said, '* O, I wish that some master musician 
would play this pain out of my tired life." 
A stranger was passing the window, and 
heard the complaint. He quietly entered 
the room, and sat down at the open piano. 
The stars were lighting the pathway of the 
skies, and the full round moon cast its silver 
beams athwart the room. The stranger be- 
gan to play. The music was entrancing, 
as if the melody of heaven had fallen upon 
the earth, and the sweet strains carried 
away the pain and the discontent from out 
the heart of the invalid. It was Beethoven 
improvising his marvellously sweet ''Moon- 
light Sonata." 



108 DEEPER YET, 

My soul, why art thou not rejoicing in 
the joy of thy salvation ? Art thou shut in 
within narrow limits, or racked with care 
and pain, saying, ''O that some master 
hand would put music into my heart in 
place of this world's jangle and discord!" 
Art thou sighing for the joy which thou 
didst have, but which thou hast lost? 
There is only One who can and will revive 
thee until thou canst rejoice. He stands 
knocking at thy door. He wants to come 
in. He wants to pour the music of heaven 
into thy life. Unbar the door. Open it 
wide. Make room for him. Gather up the 
energy of thy faith, and say: *' Blessed 
Master, sweep the keys of my heart, and 
turn all this discord into thy blest harmony. 
Tune the harp of my soul. Make me con- 
stant in my praise, so that I may daily sing 
my hymn of joy. Help me to live a steadied 
life of trust. Always forward, never back- 
ward, help me to keep up with thee in life's 
daily walk and fellowship with thee." 

" My burdens, Lord, I bring to thee ; 
O change them into songs for me. 
No other place heart-strength affords, 
My King of kings, my Lord of lords.'* 



The Greater Works. 

He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he 
do also ; and greater works than these shall he do, be- 
cause I go unto my Father. — John \^ : 12. 




ESUS CHRIST speaks with authority. 
The people who heard him were 
moved by the power of his spoken 
word. Peter was right ; *' Lord, to 
whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words 
of eternal life." 

He is more than a teacher of truth. He 
is the reservoir and the fountain. *' 1 speak 
that which 1 do know, and testify that 
which I have seen." His words were 
omnipotent. He spoke, and the storm 
hushed itself to sleep. He spoke, and deaf, 
dull ears heard with gladness. He spoke, 
and sightless eyes turned, lighted with love, 
to meet his face. He spoke, and the sepul- 
chred dead arose to meet the Lord of life. 

His works were also omnipotent. His 
miracles were the works of God. He com- 
manded the winds to be still. He walked 
upon the waters, and turned water into 

109 



110 DEEPER YET. 

wine. He touched leprosy and it fled. He 
fed the hungry thousands, and brought re- 
turning health to unnumbered sick folk. 

'*The works that I do shall ye do also." 
The early disciples, receiving the Holy 
Spirit, did perform these works. Peter and 
John met the cripple at the Beautiful Gate, 
and commanded him to rise. The sick and 
the afflicted came to the disciples as they 
did to the Master, and in the name of Jesus 
mighty deeds were performed. 

But the time came when the kingdom of 
the greater works was ushered in, for Jesus 
also said, ''Greater works than these shall 
ye do." The time came when the King- 
dom was lifted out of the tangible and seen 
into the unseen kingdom of spiritual ideals 
and of faith unaided by the physical eye. 
To-day we are in the midst of the greater 
works. Greater than the opening of blind 
eyes is it to open spiritual eyes, for the 
eyes of sense must sooner or later be closed 
in the darkness of death. It was great to 
feed five thousand with the bread that mul- 
tiplied in the Saviour's hand, but infinitely 
greater is it to feed hungry souls with the 
bread of life so that they shall hunger no 
more. It was great to walk on the water, 



TEE GREATER WORKS. Ill 

but it is much greater to lead faltering foot- 
steps to the feet of Jesus. It was great to 
raise the dead, but it is infinitely greater to 
lead the soul to Jesus, who said, '' If a man 
keep my saying, he shall never see death." 

This is the meaning of the greater works. 
'* Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I 
com.mand you." The clear call of the Mas- 
ter to his service commissions us to enter 
upon this largest field of the spiritual king- 
dom. We are the representatives of Christ 
upon this earth. Through us the messages 
of God are conveyed to the souls of men 
and women. How responsible a position 
we occupy! We ought to accept every 
opportunity for the strengthening of soul 
and spirit in order that we may resolutely 
meet the demands of the Kingdom. Are 
we consecrated to the holy task ? We can 
do these greater works, because Jesus has 
ascended to the supreme place of power, 
and has sent to us the Spirit, who will give 
us our special ordination for service. *' Be- 
cause ye are sons, God hath sent forth the 
Spirit of his Son " into our hearts and lives, 
that we might continue the service of the 
greater Son upon this earth. 

Blessed Father, teach us ever to remember 



112 DEEPER YET, 

that thou wilt fill our empty chalices to the 
brim only as we hold them still and quiet 
before thee. Prepare our hearts in the quiet 
hour for the practical and urgent duties of 
the busy hour. Deeper yet may thy Spirit 
press into our souls the enduement of thy 
great power. 

We are such ready hearers and such tardy 
doers of thy Word! Thou dost work so 
patiently with us, in order that thou might- 
est lead us into active partnership with the 
great mission of thy Son. We long for thy 
glory, but we are reluctant to tread the 
rugged pathway of sincere and unfailing 
service which leads up to it. Forgive us 
for being timid, and fill us with a holy am- 
bition to grasp firm hold of thy great plans, 
that we might truly and courageously live 
the life more abundant, and be faithful dis- 
ciples of the greater works. 




A Threefold Ministry. 

But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me ; my glory, 
and the lifter up of mine head. — Ps. 3 : 3. 




AVID'S song grew out of the expe- 
rience of his soul in the hour of his 
peril, when the rebellion of his son 
menaced him with disaster. His 
trust in God found expression in this hymn, 
in which he praises God for a threefold 
ministry. 

I. *'Thou art a shield about me." Jeho- 
vah said to Abram, ''Fear not, I am thy 
shield." What an omnipotent weapon of 
defence, which the enemy's dart cannot 
penetrate ! God is our fortress behind which 
we may hide. But here he is our shield be- 
hind which we may fight. The shield is an 
alert weapon in warfare. Little do we 
know concerning the unseen forces of evil 
which oppose us, but God himself is the 
shield round about us, which can instantly 
be turned toward the point of attack. 

My soul, make much of thy shield. Fight 
the good fight of faith, and fear not, for the 

113 



114 DEEPER YET. 

powers for thee are much greater than those 
against thee. But thou must fight if thou 
wouldst obtain the victory. Thou must 
link thy little strength with the omnipotence 
of thy shield. 

2. ''My glory." The glory of earth's 
honor is empty and vain. The glory of 
God is everlasting. The Holy One that in- 
habits eternity is also willing to dwell in the 
humblest human heart. The world may 
say, '* Who are you? what have you done 
to deserve so great honor that God dwells 
with you ?" We may safely reply, '' I am 
nothing, I have done nothing, I deserve 
nothing; but God loves me and dwells with 
me because I am a child of his and he is my 
glory." As a sunbeam is only an infinitesi- 
mal gleam of the sun, yet it can reflect the 
glory of the king of day; so the humblest 
life may receive and reflect God's glory. 
As a dewdrop lying unseen on a rose's 
petal may be small, yet in its crystal face it 
can retain and reflect the colors of the rain- 
bow, and carry to the heart of the rose the 
glory of the skies, so the humblest life may 
catch the gleams of God's glory and be an 
angel of light to other lives. 

My soul, be of good courage. The world 



A THREEFOLD MINISTRY. 115 

may not honor thee, but God will crown 
thee with his mercy. The fashion of the 
world passeth away, but God will enrich 
thee forever. As the flowers abide in the 
sunshine, so keep in the sunshine of God's 
love, and thou wilt surely behold and share 
in the glory of the Father. 

3. '*The lifter up of mine head.'* God 
sheds the light of his face upon us. But 
here he will lift up the face. What does it 
mean ? He will lift up the head under the 
weight of trials, so that we shall not be dis- 
couraged. He will take from us the sense 
of guilt for past offences, and restore to us 
the joy of salvation. The child who has 
been disobedient is conscious of his guilt. 
He withdraws to a corner, where he may 
somehow hide the shame written on his 
face. The father has heard the confession 
of the child's wrongdoing, and has said, 
''My child, I forgive you." But the child 
hangs his head. Something more is needed 
to bring back the sunshine. The father 
draws near, and with his loving hand he 
lifts up the guilt-stricken face into the light 
and the love of his own smiling face and 
favor, and kisses the troubled brow. The 
restoration is complete. So God deals with 



116 DEEPER YET, 

US. Disobedience sends us into the shad- 
ows of conscious guilt. We have lost the 
joy, the light of his presence. He forgives 
us, and he restores our souls by lifting up 
the face into the light of his blessed counte- 
nance; and, as we look up, we catch the 
message of love beaming in his eye. 

My soul, why art thou cast down ? Why 
dost thou hide thy face in the shadows ? 
Thou canst not look up, because thou hast 
grieved the Father-heart with thy disobedi- 
ence and wilfulness. Confess thy wrong- 
doing. God is so willing to forgive. The 
shadow still clings to thee. See, the blessed 
Hand is stretched out. Love divine lifts thy 
face out of the clouds into the glory of 
God's presence, until it catches the light of 
an eternal sunrise. Now thou canst sing 
with all thine heart, 

" When Jesus shows his smiling face, 
There is sunshine in my soul." 



Heart-Hymns. 




The Lord was ready to save me ; therefore we will 
sing my songs. — Isa. 38 : 20. 

jjOD heard Hezekiah's pra3^er, and 
gave him back his health again. 
jffl i ^^^ ^y^g did not rebel against 
Providence in his sickness unto 
death, but he did pray most fervently for 
restoration, and God was ready to heal him. 
The heart which feels the touch of infinite 
power is also awakened to a sense of grati- 
tude and rejoicing. Hezekiah expressed his 
joy over answered prayer in this hymn of 
praise. 

" The Lord was ready to save me, 
Therefore we will sing my songs, 
To the stringed instruments, 
All the days of our life, 
In the house of the Lord." 

Let us heartily thank God for a gospel 
that can be sung, the very music of which, 
expressed in glad tidings, stirs the heart. 

The ministry of hymns has been a great 
blessing in the progress of God's kingdom. 
117 



118 DEEPER YET, 

The history of the Christian life can be 
written in the songs of Zion. The apostle 
speaks of singing in the heart and making 
melody unto the Lord. The true hymn is 
the language of the heart. 

Next to hiding God's Word in the heart, 
these precious hymns, committed to 
memory, have been a sweet and tender 
blessing to the Christian pilgrim. Many an 
aged saint has been comforted and helped 
by such ministry of hymn and music. 

The hymns learned in youth come back 
again in old age laden with precious mem- 
ories and deep experiences. Thank God 
for a gospel that sings itself into our daily 
lives, and that bids us sing away sorrow 
and care. Sin has no hymns. Evil does 
not care to sing. A man steeped in iniquity 
has little heart to sing the songs of home; 
yet how often the memory of a mother's 
hymn has touched the prodigal's heart, and 
brought the tears of sorrow and repentance! 

David thanked God for hymns which he 
could sing in the night. Instead of spend- 
ing sleepless nights of anxiety and worri- 
ment, he made the dark hours bright with 
music and with song, recalling God's good- 
ness and mercy to him. No matter how 



HEAET-HYMNS. 119 

dark our experiences may be, no matter how 
deep the night may sink into our lives, we 
can sing our hymn and rejoice in the Lord. 
''My mouth shall praise thee with joyful 
lips, when I remember thee." There are 
times when we cannot help singing, for 
God's sunshine is so bright. ''O happy 
day that fixed my choice! " Or we are per- 
haps burdened with a great load of care, and 
our hearts are wounded. ''Earth has no 
sorrows that heaven cannot heal." We are 
in the storms of life. " Jesus, Lover of my 
soul." 

Perhaps we are harassed by a multitude 
of trials or changes, and we wonder what 
it all means. "Thou who changest not, 
abide with me." 

We may be standing at the rim of a new- 
made grave, and we are thinking of buried 
hopes and emptied hearts. "Nearer, my 
God, to thee." 

Thus, if our hearts are in tune with the 
Infinite, the hymns of Zion will minister 
balm and comfort to our souls. 

Some one has said that the sweetest 
music which he ever heard came from the 
lips and the heart of an old slave. He was 
travelling through the pine groves of the 



120 DEEPER YET. 

South. At a little distance from him he saw 
a poor hut, and before it a woman at her 
work was singing this heart-hymn:— 

<* Nobody knows the joys I have; nobody knows but 
Jesus." 

There was triumph and gladness in every 
tone of her voice. 

Then there was a pause, and in a minor 
key she put her sorrow in every word. 
*' Nobody knows the sorrows I have; no- 
body knows but Jesus." 

Yes, blessed Saviour, thou dost know all. 
Whether our hearts are happy or sad, we 
love to sing of thee and to thee. We re- 
joice that thou art so near us that even in 
our singing thou canst hear our prayers or 
our vows. Help us to translate our hymns 
into experience, and to be sincere singers. 
We receive courage and comfort from the 
hymns of Zion because thou dost put thy 
melody into our souls. Thou dost set our 
lives to the music of thy love. Thou dost 
transpose our trials and weariness into songs 
and hymns. 




God's Summits. 

Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which 
must be hereafter. — Rev, 4:1. 




E who would see the spiritual king- 
dom must himself be Spirit-filled. 
John looked into the opened heaven, 
and saw the vision of the unseen, 
because he lived so near its gates. Mystery 
unfolds itself, the nearer we approach it, in 
spiritual attainment. What John saw, he 
knew that he would reach some day. God 
can never do anything for a man who is 
spiritually blind, unless he open his eyes. 
God will reveal nothing to a man who 
wants to be blind. 

The scope of the vision is in proportion 
to the outreach of the soul. The place is 
not a barrier. Christ can make a desert 
glow as a morning sunrise, when he comes 
and reveals himself. Picture John's lonely 
exile life on Patmos. There was nothing 
helpful or pleasing on the cold, bleak shores 
of that barren island. But heaven touched 
it, and there was glory everywhere. The 
121 



122 DEEPER YET. 

life, not the place, determines the vision. 
Wherever you are, if it is a God-appointed 
place, you may see the vision which will 
transfigure the lowliest toil and service. 
God's glory will lift the life above its ma- 
terial environment, and lead the soul up into 
the divine altitude. 

John immediately responded to the com- 
ing of the Spirit. The power that exalts 
the vision also fills the soul. The nearer 
we get to the pure summits of God, the 
deeper we shall breathe in the inspiration 
of his presence. *' Mountaineers are always 
freemen." '*If the Son shall make you 
free, ye shall be free indeed." If we are 
risen with Christ, we can also ascend with 
him to the summit privileges of God's chil- 
dren. May we be among his true freemen, 
longing to live the higher life, because we 
are deeply rooted and grounded in the life 
and the love of God. 

Hawthorne's allegory of the Stone Face 
has a helpful message. The young man 
into whose soul the prophecy entered so 
deeply gazed upon the great Stone Face, 
and longed for the coming of the pure and 
noble man. In a quiet way he translated 
his ideals into humble and unselfish service 



\ 



QOD'S SUMMITS, 123 

until at last he himself became the fulfilment 
of the local prophecy. 

Thank God, we have not a stone face, 
into whose lustreless eyes we must gaze. 
Thank God, we can see Jesus, in whose 
blessed face shines the glory light of God. 
As we look into his face, and as we serve 
him unselfishly and unswervingly, we shall 
not only reflect his image, but we shall be 
more and more conformed to his likeness. 

How much we need the vision of the face 
divine, in the midst of our daily toils ! We 
need the transfiguration glory of the sum- 
mit to keep us true and faithful amid the 
arduous tasks in the valley. We need the 
atmosphere of the exalted altitude to help 
us breathe as we labor in the stifling regions 
of misery and sin. 

The summit vision will transfigure the 
whole life. The soul's horizon is com- 
pletely changed when it accepts God's invi- 
tation, '' Come up and live with me." 

Dannecker, the great sculptor, carved his 
vision of Christ into Carrara marble. The 
emperor ordered a statue of Venus for the 
Louvre. Dannecker replied: '* Sire, I can- 
not. A man who has seen Christ would 
commit sacrilege if he should employ his 



124 DEEPER YET. 

art in the carving of a pagan goddess. My 
art is henceforth a consecrated thing.'* 

My soul, hast thou seen Christ f Alone 
with thy God, hast thou heard his voice, 
'' Come up and live with me, and I will 
show you things which must be hereafter " } 
Art thou pressing toward the summits of 
God } Remember that he will keep thee on 
the heights if thou art wholly consecrated 
to him. Living or dying, art thou the 
Lord's? Then thou canst also say: ''I 
have pledged myself to the Lord. Hence- 
forth my life is a consecrated living with 
my God." As Moses lifted up his eyes 
from Pisgah's summit, and saw the prom- 
ised land before him, so mayest thou, from 
God's great summit, see the King in his 
beauty and behold the land of far distance. 

" So the purer life grows nigher every year. 
And its morning star climbs higher every year. 
And earth's hold on us grows slighter, 
And the heavy burdens lighter, 
And the dawn immortal brighter every year." 




A Consecration Hymn. 

" Jesus, my King, with thorn-crowned brow, 
O let thy Spirit fill me now. 
In faith I kneel before thy cross ; 
All earthly things I count but dross. 

"Yes, Lord, I hear thy voice of love 
That draws my soul to thee above. 
For strength I ask, to follow thee 
Where'er by faith thy hand I see. 

" I give myself, my time, my all ; 
In worship at thy feet I fall. 
Then bid me rise to service new, 
Whate'er there is for me to do. 

*< I will obey thy voice divine, 
And calmly place my hand in thine ; 
I'll follow thee with joyful heart, 
Where'er I can thy Word impart. 

" My burdens. Lord, I bring to thee ; 
O, change them into songs for me. 
No other place heart-strength affords, 
My King of kings, my Lord of lords." 



125 



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